Desi Talk

www.desitalk.com – that’s all you need to know 6 CITY VIEWS February 13, 2026 Young Indian American Physicians And Medical Students Hold Summit In Cancun T he American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) held a successful Young Physicians Section (YPS) Educational Summit at the Oasis Pyramid in Cancun, Mexico. The Conference was jointly organized by the Young Physicians Section (YPS) and the Medical Students, Resi- dents, and Fellows Section (MSRF) under the leadership of YPS Chair Dr. Gautam Kamthan and MSRF President Dr. Priyanka Kolli. Sixty young physicians, residents, fellows, and medi- cal students, attending the meeting, which according to a press release from organizers was the “largest YPS gathering in AAPI’s history and a powerful reflection of the growing engagement of the next generation.” Attendees exchanged ideas and explored the evolv- ing responsibilities of physicians of Indian origin in the United States. The program featured sessions centered on career development, mentorship, physician wellness, advocacy, and the shifting landscape of healthcare. Continuing Medical Education (CME) offerings, a Research Poster Symposium, and interactive workshops covering social media, healthcare law, and leadership strategies, were part of the program. AAPI President Dr. Amit Chakrabarty praised the energy and vision of the participants, noting that the enthusiasm displayed in Cancun signals a bright future for the organization. “If this is the caliber of talent rising within our ranks, AAPI’s future is not only secure—it is brilliant,” he said, adding, “These young professionals brought with them fresh ideas, bold questions, and a deep desire to shape the future of AAPI and the broader medical community.” Dr. Hetal Gor, Chair, AAPI Board of Trustees said the Cancun summit stands as a testament to AAPI’s invest- ment in its future leaders. “The passion, professionalism, and unity displayed by the attendees signal a new era of engagement—one defined by collaboration, innovation, and a shared commitment to excellence,” Dr. Gor said. Among the young leaders present was Dr. Soumya Neravetla, a cardiologist, AAPI national Treasurer, who is a past President of YPS, and the first-ever second-gener- ation physician of Indian origin to be elected to the AAPI national office. Dr. Neravetla thanked YPS or organizing the summit, and the AAPI leadership for its support. “I feel proud to stand before you today, as a national AAPI office bearer, working hand in hand with the YPS and AAPI leadership, to help our beloved organization reach greater heights.” YPS was formed with the objective of promoting, up- holding, and maintaining the highest standards of ethics in the practice of medicine and in medical education, the press release noted. The MSRF is a national organization that promotes the professional, political, and social goals of Indian American medical students and resident physi- cians today and in the future. Dr. Chakrabarty invited all delegates to attend the next AAPI Annual Convention and Scientific Assembly to be held in Tampa, FL, in June 2026,” and announced there would be an AAPI YPS-MSRF Day for the first time in Florida. By a StaffWriter An Infection Liquefied A Man’s Lungs. Indian American Surgeon Describes How This Invention Kept The Patient Alive D octors in Chicago saved the life of a young Missouri man with a rare infection that had liquefied his lungs, hooking him up to what they have called a total artificial lung. The patient, whose name was not re- leased, survived on the lung for 48 hours, and then received a lung transplant. Two and a half years later, the patient, now in his mid-30s, is alive and back working in his family business, accord- ing to Ankit Bharat, his lead surgeon and executive director of the Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute where the surgeries were performed. Few patients ever develop such severe lung disease, but experts said the trans- plant in Chicago will give hope to those in such desperate circumstances and show doctors that they can be saved. Bharat is the first author of a paper describing the artificial lung procedure published Thursday in the journal Cell Press. In May 2023, the Missouri man was air- lifted to Northwestern suffering from lung failure triggered by influenza that rapidly deteriorated into a rare, severe complica- tion called necrotizing pneumonia. The condition is characterized by intense inflammation, destruction of lung tissue. “His kidneys were failing. His heart was in big trouble,” Bharat said in a video in- terview. The death of cells was so severe in the lung that the tissue transformed into a liquid mass filling both chest cavities with pus. “In fact, he was so sick that when he came within a day and a half his heart stopped completely,” Bharat said. In a 12-hour surgery involving about 15 doctors, nurses and medical staff, Bharat removed both of the patient’s lungs and hooked him up to tubes leading to an artificial lung outside the body. The device, which consisted of 25 parts, took in blood from the right side of heart, infused it with oxygen and pumped it back to left side of the heart, which then sent the blood out to the rest of the body. Bharat said the device used on the patient has yet to be used a second time because doctors wanted to see how the patient fared in the long term. He added that the artificial lung cannot be tested in clinical trials because it would be unethi- cal to randomize treatment for some dy- ing patients and not for others. He said that Northwestern intends to keep a registry that will allow researchers to track how well the device does in other cases. “I think this is something that can go from a novelty to a way of approaching this stage of lung disease in patients,” said Marie Budev, medical director of the lung and heart-lung transplant program at Cleveland Clinic who was not involved in the work. “It opens a door for patients that might previously have been rejected for transplant.” Budev stressed that the procedure is so complex that it will likely be an option only for highly advanced transplant cen- ters with multidisciplinary teams. “The patient would have 1,000 percent died without it,” Stephanie Chang, surgi- cal director of lung transplantation for the NYU Langone Transplant Institute. She called the work by the team at Northwestern “heroic,” but said the arti- ficial lung device was more of a tweak on devices that have been used previously in a few rare cases, including one by doctors at the University Health Network, Univer- sity of Toronto. Bharat disagreed, saying the artificial lung he and his colleagues developed rep- resents a “major advance toward a durable and long-term implantable total artificial lung system.” In particular, he said, previous sys- tems were modified versions of a device called ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) a temporary life-support machine that takes over the function of a patient’s failing heart and/or lungs. The Northwestern artificial lung, he said, is able to restore stable blood flow even when pressure in the arteries changes and, unlike other methods, does not alter the heart chambers. Work on artificial lungs has been pro- gressing since the mid-2000s, when sheep were implanted with such devices. Before 2017, about 11 percent of lung transplant patients died or were removed from the transplant list, but that number has dropped to about 4 percent. -TheWashington Post By Mark Johnson PHOTO:@NM.ORG PHOTO:CourtesyAAPI Ankit Bharat MD Surgrey Thoracic Surgery NMFF FSM. AAPI’s YPS Educational Summit in Cancun showcases the rising leadership of young Indian-American physicians. Above are scenes from the summit.