Washington, June 23 (IANS) Two Indian Americans, Pat Basu of Naperville, Illinois, and Sunny Ramchandani of Rowland Heights, California, are among the 13 new White House Fellows.
All the 13 White House Fellows "come from diverse backgrounds, varied professions" and all of them "have shown a strong commitment to public service and leadership," the White House announced Tuesday.
The White House Fellows Programme was created in 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson to give promising American leaders "first hand, high-level experience with the workings of the Federal government, and to increase their sense of participation in national affairs." .
Pat Basu is a radiologist at Stanford University and the Palo Alto, Virginia. At Stanford, he is Course Director of Health Policy, Finance and Economics, and lectures nationally and internationally on these areas of expertise.
Basu was named the Consultant Physician of the Year at Stanford in 2009, where he served as Chief Resident Physician in 2008. He received the AMA's National Excellence in Medicine Award for Leadership in 2007.
He co-founded ExtendMD, a web portal designed to enhance outpatient care. He serves as a business consultant to medical centers, Fortune 500 companies and venture capital firms.
Basu is also the founder of STARS Luncheon, a non-profit designed to support lower socioeconomic children for future college and career success.
Ramchandani is a Lieutenant Commander and physician in the United States Navy. He is currently the Integrated Chief of General Internal Medicine at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre, where he co-founded an innovative primary care delivery model that has enhanced quality, reduced overall costs, and been adopted by the entire US Military Health System.
In 2009, Ramchandani deployed to Afghanistan as the Senior Medical Mentor for the Afghan National Security Forces, guided the execution of a new healthcare reconstruction strategy, and received the Bronze Star Medal.
As an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University and prior Chair of the American Medical Association's Resident/Fellow Section, Ramchandani teaches and mentors young physicians on how to address today's healthcare challenges.
He earned his MPH. from the Harvard School of Public Health and his MD from the Yale School of Medicine, where he received the Norman Herzig Award for his dedication to humanitarian service in India. He earned his BS from the US Naval Academy, where he was a Truman Scholar and graduated first in his class academically.