ACR Members Receive Excellence in Medicine Awards


Foundation Winners
From left to right: Karen Marie Winkfield, M.D., Ph.D.; Appa Rao Mukkamala, M.D.; Alexander Ding, M.D., MS; Shilpen Patel, M.D.; Not pictured: Christoph I. Lee, M.D.

Five ACR members were honored by the American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation with Excellence in Medicine Awards at an awards banquet in on March 9, 2009, in Washington, D.C. These awards recognize physicians who demonstrate the highest values of altruism, compassion, leadership and dedication to patient care.

AppaRao Mukkamala, M.D., FACR, of Grand Blanc, Mich., was awarded the Dr. Nathan Davis International Award in Medicine. The recipient of this award has shown a commitment to outstanding international service.

Mukkamala is chair of the department of radiology and vice chair of the board of managers for Hurley Medical Center, and clinical professor of radiology at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. His was recognized by the AMA for establishing NRI Medical College and General Hospital in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, as well as founding the Chinmaya Vijaya Orphanage following the Asian tsunami of 2003.

The following ACR members have been selected as recipients of the 2009 AMA Foundation Leadership Award. The award recognizes residents, fellows, and early-career physicians who have shown strong potential in leadership and service:

  • Alexander Ding, M.D., MS, a second-year radiology resident at Massachusetts General Hospital;
  • Karen Marie Winkfield, M.D., Ph.D., a third-year resident in the Harvard Radiation Oncology Program;
  • Christoph I. Lee, M.D., a third year radiology resident at Stanford University School of Medicine; and
  • Shilpen Patel, M.D., an assistant professor at the University of Washington in the department of radiation oncology.