Entertainment, Networking, Organ Donation Mark Annual Physicians Convention
President of the Medical Association of Georgia (MAG), John S. Harvey, M.D., addressing the audience. (Photo: Bytegraph)
The Georgia Association of Physicians of Indian Heritage (GAPI) held its 28th Annual Convention culminating with a glitzy banquet at the Crowne Plaza, Atlanta Perimeter at Ravinia, on Saturday, April 30, 2016. The gala event was attended by over 400 guests including physicians from all over Georgia and graced by the presence of prominent guests including Dr. Thomas Pearson M.D., Ph.D, Dr. Ram Subramanian M.D. and Dr. Stephen Pastan M.D. from Emory Transplant Center, Dr. John Harvey M.D. and Dr. Don Palmisano from Medical Association of Georgia (MAG), and special guest, Chair, AAPI BOT Dr. Aravind Pillai.
A well-attended medical education seminar was moderated by Dr. Jyotirmay Sharma and Hemant Yagnick with informative and engaging discussions on obesity, genetic disease, and novel therapies for artificial liver support, among others.
During the social hour, the attendees mingled and networked with gusto, enjoyed the cocktails and hors d’oeuvres and also visited the various booths. The program was emceed with flair and humor by CNN International’s Archith Seshadri and Ohio-born, stand-up comedian Rajiv Satyal.
Vijay Vemulapalli and Manojbala (Manju) Tiwari (far left and far right, respectively) received Humanitarian Awards; transplant recipients Mustafa Ajmeri and Navdeep Singh Mann recounted their heartwarming personal stories of their transplants at Emory Transplant Center, Atlanta; at center is Mrs. Tejinder Kaul Mann. (Photo: Bytegraph)
GAPI President Dr. Sudha Tata thanked her Executive Team for their support. April being National Organ Donor Month, Tata—a transplant nephrologist at Emory—expressed her desire to promote greater awareness of organ donation and transplantation in the Indian community. Dr. Thomas Pearson M.D., PhD, Executive Director of Emory Transplant Center gave an informative PowerPoint presentation on organ transplants. With increased demand and reduced supply, unfortunately the waiting period has increased, which can now be years. He briefly suggested ways to tackle this problem. Later, two transplant recipients Mustafa Ajmeri and Navdeep Singh Mann recounted their heartwarming personal stories of their transplants at Emory Transplant Center, Atlanta.
Dr. Manoj Shah introduced President, Medical Association of Georgia, Dr. John Harvey who, in turn, noted, “It is an honor to be introduced by MAG Past President Manoj Shah—the first physician of Indian Heritage to be president of MAG.”
GAPI executive team (Photo: Bytegraph)
The annual scholarship of $1,000 and a Citation of Excellence for their accomplishments was given to four students: Anurag Sharma, Koyal Ansingkar, Harish Alappan, and Silki Modi. Humanitarian Awards were given to Vijay Vemulapalli and Manojbala (Manju) Tiwari.
Atlanta’s premier Nritya Natya Kala Bharati’s students in colorful costumes, with mini-lanterns in their hands and synchronized handclaps, enthralled the audience with a semi-classical Sufi style performance, choreographed by Samta Savla. A dazzling fashion show choreographed by Madhavi Korrapati was a visual treat for the audience. The finale saw all performers on stage waving the American and Indian national flags to the tune of the rousing patriotic song "Maa tujhe salaam."
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