New York, NYâ€”July 5th, 2015: During a solemn ceremony, attended by physicians, community leaders and international media personnel, leaders of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), the largest ethnic association of medical professionals in the United States, launched a pioneering initiative, Scientific, Academic Research Foundation (SARF) at the Indian Consulate in New York on Friday, July 3rd, 2015.

â€œIt has been a dream for me for the past 10 years, and today, we have been able to launch Scientific, Academic Research Foundation, which is dedicated to excellence in Medicine and supporting key academic research initiatives, Dr. Seema Jain, President of AAPI, told the audience. The first ever SARF Inaugural Awards Gala will be held on August 14, 2015 at the Pierre Hotel in New York, NY and the awardees will be recognized at the inaugural Gala, to be addressed by Hardeep Singh Puri, Secretary General of the Independent Commission on Multiculturalism, Bob Oliver, President and Chief Operating Officer, Otsuka America Pharmecuticals, Omar Ishark, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Medtronix, Inc, and Dnyneshwar Mulay, Consul General of India in New York.

â€œThere is a plethora of Physicians of Indian Origin working globally who have their roots in India,â€ Dr. Jain, said. â€œIt is estimated that there are 1.2 million Physicians of Indian Origin working not only in India, but also, in most of the countries around the world. Their contributions to the world of healthcare is enormous. Itâ€™s in this context, AAPIâ€™s new initiative becomes very timely and unique,â€ she told the audience.

â€œSARF has been founded to support and promote excellence in medicine, advance key research and academic initiatives and establishing a robust and credible process of recognizing significant contributions of Indian American Physicians with Excellence awards,â€ she said.

Indian-Americans constitute less than one percent of the population in the United States, but they account for nearly nine percent of the nationâ€™s physicians in the United States, having a very powerful presence across the nation, while serving in almost all parts of the country. They are estimated to provide healthcare to over 40 million patients in the US.

As Forbes magazine aptly summed up, â€œThe overrepresentation of Indians in these fields (engineering, IT and medicine) is striking â€œ in practical terms, one out of seven doctors is likely to be of Indian Heritage. In some states, including in the state of New Jersey, they serve and provide medical care to nearly 25% of the population. Almost 10%-12% of medical students entering US schools are of Indian origin.

The SARF awards are for individuals who distinguish themselves and are at the cutting edge of their field, rising up above thousands of others. The logo for SARF illustrates this concept with a mark that emphasizes an upward, ascending motion. Gold represents the rarity and preciousness of the individuals and their work, and the blue surrounding it denotes the high level of quality and professionalism that comes with the biomedical field

â€œThere is a need for greater visibility and cohesion of these Physicians. Their combined intellectual and technical strength can also be a vital force in the development of the healthcare sector, including research and academics. Indian physicians both in India and abroad excel in their fields and have a passion to provide quality care. AAPI through this new initiative, brings their collective power on one platform to help shape healthcare in underserved areas and work towards quality healthcare for all,â€ added Dr. Jain.

While encouraging and honoring the current line of physicians, we are also encouraging the next generations, creating enthusiasm among the next generation of physicians who wioll act as catalysts for research and development in the healthcare field.

Ambassador Dnyneshwar Mulay, in his inaugural address, metaphorically described the Indian American community as a â€œfertile ground,â€ where AAPI has grown to be a â€œBanyan tree,â€ and SARF is a â€œbeautiful flower.â€ Praising AAPI for its significant contributions in helping strengthen Indo-US relationship, Mulay said, â€œSARF is an important beginning for AAPI. You are sowing the seeds today with this pioneering effort. Many other organizations of Indian origin that also have large membership will emulate AAPI to be their role model, following in your footsteps.â€

In his welcome note, Anwar Feroz, an Honorary Advisor of AAPI, said, â€œPhysicians of Indian origin have made significant contributions to healthcare systems worldwide. AAPI, while serving as a forum and an advocate for these clinicians to mobilize their collective experience and expertise to help address global health issues with focus on the healthcare needs of this adopted land of theirs; assisting development of quality health care with affordable access for all.â€

SARF Award Categories include: Lifetime Excellence for Research & Innovation that recognizes a meritorious individual who has made significant contributions to the field of research through advocacy in medicine, clinical practice, or the surgical process. Excellence in Leadership to Young Physician Award recognizes two exceptional medical students, residents/fellows, or early career physicians that have gone beyond the medical practice to positively influence health care. Excellence in Global Health will recognize a physician whose influence has reached beyond the U.S. border to affect the international patient population. The Physician of the Year award will recognize a physician who has displayed significant involvement in community service, proven leadership, positive mentoring skills, and compassion and sensitivity, while collaborating with students and patients

Hall of Fame award is to recognize an individual who has spent their career providing outstanding contributions leading to extraordinary strides in the field of healthcareÂ· Excellence in Hospital/Health System Management award will recognize an individual who has demonstrated exceptional leadership while working to improve outcomes, patient safety, quality of care, community engagement, and consistency in resultsÂ· Excellence in Pharmaceutical/Medical Device Research & Innovation award will recognizes a C-suite leader in a pharmaceutical, device, or health technology company that has created significant and proven impact on addressing a major disease state, surgical intervention or application of technology to improve upon current treatment and management optionsÂ· Excellence in Delivering Quality & Cost Effective Pharmaceutical Alternatives award is to recognize a C-suite leader in a pharmaceutical, device, or health technology company that has created significant and proven impact by utilizing disruptive innovation and making available breakthrough and expensive treatment/management options and significant reduction in cost

Dr. Jain announced a high power, highly qualified and efficient pane of Judges to choose the winner of these prestigious awards. They are: Dr. Peter Carmel, Immediate Past President of American Medical Association; Dr. Elena Rios, National Hispanic Medical Association; Dr. Seymour Schwartz, Distinguished Alumni Professor, University of Rochester; Dr. Joseph Chalil, Chief Strategic Advisor at Provoctus; Dr. Devi Nambiaparambil, Assistant Professor at Department of Rehabilitation Medicine; Dr. Edith Mitchell, NMA President Elect; Freda Lewis Hall, Chief Medical Officer at Pfizer; Dr. Luis Salmun, Executive Director, Boeringher Ingelheim; Rajeev Bambiri, CEO, India Abroad; and Paul Stoffel, Chief Scientific Officer at Johnson & Johnson.

Dr. Jain thanked all those who had worked hard in the past few months to make this day a reality. Prominent among those include: Dr.Sanjay Jain, Anwar Feroz Siddiqi, Dr. Thomas Alapatt, Dr. Samin Sharma, Dr. Jagat Narula, DFr. Anand Sahu, Dr. Gautam Samadder, Dr. Arvind Kumar, Dr. Gaurav Gupta, DFr. Chitra Kumar, Dr. Naresh Parikh, Dr. Jayesh Kanuga, Dr. Kishore Ratalkar, Dr. Atul Prakash, Dr. Sankaran Krishnan, Dr. Nilesh Patel, Dr. Raj Bhayani, and Dr. Pranay Vaidya.

In his felicitation address, DR. Sudhir Parikh said, â€œDr. Seema has taken the first step in making AAPI an international organization.â€ Dr. Ajay Lodha, President-Elect of AAPI, said, â€œWe are very proud of Dr. Seema for taking AAPI to new heights. We are with you in this new endeavor and make it a success.â€ Dr. Gautam Samadder, Vice President of AAPI, said, â€œWe want to congratulate you, Dr. Seema. This new initiative will help attract many 2nd generation young physicians to AAPI.â€

Dr. Krishan Kumar, a BOT member described SARF to be â€œa dream come true for AAPI.â€ Dr. Rupak Parikh, YPS President, said, â€œAAPI has grown into a global leader in the past 34 years and has made a huge difference.â€ Dhaval Bhanushali, MSRF President, described SARF as â€œa new beginning for AAPI in recognizing talents, especially among the 2nd generation Indian American physicians.â€

Membership to SARF is given to all AAPI members in good standing. All physicians of Indian origin are eligible to apply for membership. In the coming years SARF is expected to grow and expand, while seeking to celebrate and honor the achievements and contributions of Physicians of Indian Origin.

The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) is the largest ethnic medical organization in the United States, serving as an umbrella organization which has nearly 90 local chapters, specialty societies and alumni organizations. For over 30 years, Indian physicians have made significant contributions to health care in this country, not only practicing in inner cities, rural areas and peripheral communities but also at the top medical schools and other academic centers. Headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, AAPI represents the interests of over 60,000 physicians and 25,000medical students and residents of Indian heritage in the United States. AAPI, the largest ethnic medical organization in the nation, and serves as an umbrella organization. For more details, and sponsorship opportunities, please visit: www.aapiusa.org

Captions:

1. Dr. Seema Jain, President of AAPI, addressing the audience at the Indian Consulate

2. Dr. Seema Jain with Dr. Ajay Lodha, President-Elect of AAPI and Dr. Gautam Samadder, Vice President of AAPI

3. Ambassador Dnyneshwar Mulay with some of the AAPI leaders and media persons

4. A section of the audience at the Indian Consulate in New York on Friday, July 3rd, 2015

AAPI launches Scientific, Academic Research Foundation (SARF)