Dr. Kavita Gupta elected chair of AAPI Board of Trustees

Makes history as the first second-generation Indian American physician to hold a national leadership position in AAPI’s 44-year-old history

By DesiMax Wire

Dr. Kavita Gupta has been elected as the Chair of the Board of Trustees of AAPI to become the first second-generation Indian American physician to hold a national leadership position in its 44-year-old history.

Gupta, who was born and raised in the United States, was elected secretary of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) in 2013, according to an AAPI release. Currently, Gupta is serving a 3-year term on the board. She will assume charge as the Chair of AAPI’s BOT during the first-ever World Congress of AAPI in New York on July 20.

“I want to congratulate Dr. Kavita Gupta for representing second-generation Indian American physicians in this very important role as the BOT Chair of AAPI,” said Dr. Anjana Samadder, current President of AAPI.

“With her election to the leadership role in AAPI, the second and successive generations of physicians of Indian Origin at AAPI are poised to continue the tremendous success of our prior leadership and contribute our dynamic talents towards AAPI’s mission.”

Recognizing the need to bring in more second-generation Indian American physicians to AAPI, Gupta says, “We have to grow with the next generation by its side. I see myself as a true liaison with our younger second-generation leaders.”

Stating that she brings “a new perspective and also a second-generation rationale to the issues we face as Indian American physicians,” Gupta would like to see her “efforts go to slowly building a strong association focusing on younger leader development and strengthening our professional relations.”

A woman leader in a predominantly men’s club, Gupta’s motivation for joining AAPI was that “AAPI needed young charismatic leaders that had the service and leadership qualities needed to unite and bring Indian physicians to new levels in American society.”

Gupta is board-certified in pain management, physical medicine, and rehabilitation. A prominent practicing pain management physician from the southern New Jersey Tri-state region, Gupta had started as an engineer but pursued a medical degree “with a mindset to help others.”

Describing her long years of medical practice, Gupta says, “I’ve been in practice as an interventional pain management for over 20 years, ranging from academic practice and private practice.”

Before becoming a physician, Gupta had a Master’s degree in biomedical engineering from the prestigious Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York and had participated in consulting and advisory roles with pharma, device companies and was mentoring biomedical engineering graduate students.”

After graduating from medical school, Dr. Gupta completed her post-graduate training as a chief resident in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Temple University and completed an anesthesia pain fellowship at Penn State.

Previously, Gupta was an assistant professor and section head of the Interventional Pain Program at UMDNJ Stratford. She has published several articles and participates in clinical research within the field of pain management.

Gupta lectures nationwide and has a special interest in community education programs on the latest treatments to alleviate pain. She is an active member of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and teaching faculty at Rowan University.