Dr. Vivek Murthy, Indian American U.S. Surgeon General, flew from Boston to California to marry fellow doctor Alice Chen in her home state, on August 22nd, 2015. “As I prepare for my wedding & write my vows, I remember Maya Angelou’s timeless advice: #Love recognizes no barriers,” Murthy tweeted Aug. 20 with a photo of his new wife. Chen responded to the tweet with, “Love is all you need. #grateful #happy.”
In addition to holding the position of surgeon general, Murthy, 37, is also a physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a teacher at Harvard Medical School. Chen is a practicing internal medicine hospitalist and assistant clinical professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, along with serving as executive director for Doctors for America, an organization working towards equal access to high-quality health care, according to the Doctors for America Web site.
President Barak Obama has nominated 37-year-old Indian-American physician Dr. Vivek Murthy to be the US Surgeon General, making Dr. Murthy the country’s 19th surgeon general for an office that was established in 1871. As the US Surgeon General, the young and talented Indian American is entrusted with leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the US and the operational head of the 6500-strong US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, one of the seven uniformed services of the United States that includes army, navy, air force and marines.
A graduate of Yale University, where he earned a medical degree and an MBA, he will easily be, by far, the youngest surgeon general in US history. He will also be the first surgeon general of Indian origin, recognizing the immense contribution of the Indian-American community to health care in the United States.
Stating that it is a fitting public recognition of his tireless work and leadership in championing a system where everyone has equal access to quality healthcare, AAPI, the entire Indian American community has been looking forward to bringing the experience and perspective of everyday doctors to the table to help shape the national prevention strategy.
The surgeon general, known as “America’s doctor,” represents the Health and Human Services Secretary and assistant secretary in addressing public health practice. According to an account on Epernicus.com, Murthy says “I study people’s journeys to find inspiration in their work.”
Among other accomplishments, Dr. Murthy founded other health groups addressing issues such as the availability of medicine in rural areas and HIV/AIDS. In 1997, he graduated with a degree in biochemical sciences from Harvard, and later attended Yale University to receive degrees in medicine and business. He had previously served as President Obama’s appointee to the Presidential Advisory Council on Prevention, Health Promotion, Integrative and Public Health. He is an attending physician in general internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Mass.
