Who is Bobby Mukkamala? First person of Indian origin elected head of American Medical Association

Indian-origin doctor Bobby Mukkamala was on Wednesday, June 11, elected 180th President of the American Medical Association. With his election, Bobby Mukkamala became the first person of Indian origin to lead the organisation in its 178-year history.

In a statement following his election, Bobby Mukkamala said, “To call this moment humbling doesn't capture it. It's moving. It's awe-inspiring.”

His appointment as the 180th President of the American Medical Association comes a few months after Bobby Mukkamala went through a surgery to remove an 8-cm temporal lobe tumour on the left side of his brain.

The removal of 90 per cent of the tumor was a best-case scenario for Mukkamala. During his decades working in organised medicine, Mukkamala has been a fierce advocate for patients. His cancer battle reaffirmed the purpose of his position – to use his platform and lived experience to advocate for a better, more equitable US health system.

“As I lay in recovery from brain surgery at the Mayo Clinic, with tubes and wires monitoring my every movement, this night – this honor – this opportunity to improve health care seemed a very distant dream,” he said.

Bobby Mukkamala was born to two physicians who were immigrants in the United States. To serve the community that welcomed them was his inspiration to become a doctor.

Bobby Mukkamala graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School and completed his residency at Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago. His wife, Nita Kulkarni, an MD, is an obstetrician-gynecologist.

“Together, they established the Endowed Health Professions Scholarships at the University of Michigan, Flint, in 2012. They have two adult children, Nikhil, a biomedical engineer, and Deven, a PhD candidate in political science,” AMA said in a statement.

Bobby Mukkamala also chairs the AMA Substance Use and Pain Care Task Force. “He also played a central role in response to the Flint water crisis, serving as chair of the Community Foundation of Greater Flint with a focus on funding projects to mitigate the effects of lead in children. As an otolaryngologist, he sees patients at all stages of life and all phases of health—from newborns to senior citizens.”

The Indian-origin doctor has also been a past recipient of the AMA Foundation’s “Excellence in Medicine” Leadership Award.

In 2009, Mukkamala was elected to the AMA Council on Science and Public Health. In 2017 and 2021, he was elected to the AMA Board of Trustees. He has also been a member of the Michigan State Medical Society Board of Directors since 2011, as board chair for two years, and as its president.

He is also a past president of the Genesee County Medical Society (GCMS) and continues to serve on the GCMS Board of Directors.