Please join us in celebrating the inauguration of Bobby Mukkamala, MD, the 180th president of #OurAMA. Dr. Mukkamala is an accomplished otolaryngologist based in Flint, Michigan, with over two decades of dynamic leadership in organized medicine and public health. He is also the… pic.twitter.com/xTSUAZDzsF
— AMA (@AmerMedicalAssn) June 11, 2025
“To call this moment humbling doesn’t capture it. It’s moving. It’s awe-inspiring,” he said during the inaugural ceremony.Who is srinivas mukkamala?
Srinivas Mukkamala, MD, is an Indian-origin otolaryngologist who became the 180th president of the American Medical Association. He is based in Flint, Michigan, and has over 20 years of creative leadership experience in public health and organised medicine.
He also became the first South Asian president of the American Medical Association. He is the first doctor with Indian ancestry to hold the prominent position.
Mukkamala completed his medical degree at the University of Michigan and his residency at Loyola University in Chicago. He then returned to Flint to practise medicine with his wife, obstetrician-gynaecologist Nita Kulkarni.
The couple has two sons: Deven, a political science PhD candidate, and Nikhil, a biomedical engineer.
According to the American Medical Association, Mukkamala recently underwent surgery for an 8-cm brain tumour months before the significant appointment.
The temporal lobe tumour was discovered on the left side of Mukkamala’s brain during an MRI examination in November. The 53-year-old father of two had surgery three weeks following the shocking discovery, per AMA.
Recalling his tense journey, Mukkamala said, “This night—this award—this this chance to enhance healthcare seemed like a far-off fantasy as I lay recovering from brain surgery at the Mayo Clinic, with tubes and cables tracking every motion I made.”
He has been an ardent patient advocate for decades while working in organised medicine. His fight with cancer served as a reminder of his role’s goal, which is to use his influence and personal experience to promote a more effective and fair healthcare system in the United States.
Mukkamala has often underlined growing health inequalities in underprivileged areas like Flint in his inaugural address as president of the American Medical Association.
He has pledged to address significant flaws in the American healthcare system following his brain tumour surgery.
Mukkamala hopes to utilise his experiences in Flint and his parents’ immigration story to promote sustainable and fair healthcare approaches.
In his role as president, he intends to keep pushing for more government funding for public health and research, as well as accessible and affordable medical care.
“Our patients are entitled to better. Our doctors are entitled to better. Our country deserves better,” he said.
