A second generation Indian, born, raised and educated in America, Dr. Soumya R. Neravetla is a busy Cardiothoracic Surgeon actively engaged in the welfare of physicians of Indian Origin and the general public. After graduating from Northeast Ohio Medical University, she completed her residencies in General Surgery at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh and Cardiothoracic Surgery at Jackson Memorial/University of Miami in FL and is double boarded. After residency, she pursued advanced training in Robotic Thoracic Surgery at Baptist Health System in Miami and in Structural Heart at Emory Healthcare in Atlanta.
She has extensive Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) experience, including launching and directing TAVR programs. She has also directed and spearheaded Robotic Thoracic Surgery and lung cancer related programs. She serves in several leadership positions locally, including serving as the current Chair of the Department of Surgery. Dr. Neravetla has special interests in Endovascular, Minimally Invasive and Robotic Surgery.
In spite of her busy work schedule, she collaborates with her father, Dr. Surender Reddy Neravetla (author of Salt Kills), in his mission to spread awareness about prevention of cardiovascular disease, which disproportionately affects physicians and people of Indian Origin. She is a popular medical speaker and has given many talks to medical communities and the general public, including an invitation to personally speak to the Governor of Ohio and the Ohio Department of Health.
By her example, she wants to motivate physicians of her generation to engage in their communities and AAPI. She has diligently served multiple roles for AAPI, including various AAPI YPS Board positions, Co-Editor of SNM and JAAPI, prior Chair of AAPI IT Committee and Publication Committees, and Co-Chair of Membership Committee for many years. A prior winner of AAPI’s Got Talent, for her Kuchipudi duet performance, she has been an active member of AAPI, serving on many committees over the years with the hope of helping AAPI continue to evolve into a meaningful organization for future generations.
Pooja Kinkhabwala
Dr. Swati Yalamanchi is a board certified Hematologist/Oncologist practicing in Kentucky. She attended medical school at Ross University and completed her Internal Medicine residency and Hematology/Oncology fellowship at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, KY.
Dr. Yalamanchi has been an active AAPI member since residency and has enjoyed meeting fellow members at AAPI conferences and forging new friendships. In prior years she has served on the AAPI YPS Executive committee and served as Convention Chair and Secretary along with other various roles within AAPI’s organization. She is an avid traveler having traveled to all 7 continents and more than 65 countries as well as a huge University of Kentucky basketball fan!
Shefali Kothary is a practicing musculoskeletal radiologist in New York. She completed her undergraduate studies at Dartmouth College, after which she attended medical school at Tufts University School of Medicine. She went on to complete residency in radiology at Mount Sinai and fellowship in musculoskeletal radiology at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. Shefali has been an active member of AAPI since medical school. She has been involved with her local chapters as well as the national organization.
Dr. Ami Baxi is a board certified psychiatrist, based in New York City. Since completing residency where she served as chief resident in her final year, Dr. Baxi has advanced up the chain of hospital administration at Lenox Hill Hospital, part of the Northwell Health system. After serving as Director of Inpatient Psychiatry, Dr. Baxi now serves as Director of Ambulatory Services and Medical Director of Ambulatory Telepsychiatry. Dr. Baxi’s keen interest in the training and education of future doctors resulted in an appointment as the Director of Medical Student Education along with various training awards. Dr. Baxi also most recently graduated from Northwell’s esteemed Physician Leadership Development Program.
As the child of a psychiatrist, Dr. Baxi attended AAPI conventions growing up and as her own career developed, she naturally took a leadership role as an active member of the Young Physicians Section. In her first year on the YPS Executive Committee, she served as the convention chair of their marquee event, the Winter Medical Conference in Las Vegas, in subsequent years, she has served as Treasurer, President-Elect, and most recently President of YPS in 2020-2021.
As President, Dr. Baxi increased YPS membership and social media presence while also leveraging her local and national networks to organize webinars with well-credentialed industry experts on critically important issues. She hosted the 8th Annual Winter Medical Conference, held virtually for the first time, which brought a record number of registrants and cutting edge content from the country’s most renowned medical professionals. Finally, she closed out her Presidency at the annual convention in Atlanta, planning extraordinary events in record time. Dr. Baxi is confident that YPS’s visibility and value to its constituents will only continue to increase with the new leadership team. She is looking forward to an exciting and productive year.
Dr. Kriti Arora born and brought up in New Delhi, India, and moved to Toronto, Canada at the age of 14. She attended University of Toronto, Canada for undergraduate degree, and received her medical degree from Saba University School of Medicine. She then completed her Family Medicine residency at Aultman Hospital / Northeast Ohio Medical University in Canton, Ohio – where she was also Chief Resident.
Dr. Kriti Arora is practicing as a primary care physician at a Federally Qualified Health Centre close to Toledo, OH. She is passionate about preventative health, especially in women and the underserved population. Her research in preventative women’s health during residency has won first place at the national AAFP conference. She also holds volunteer teaching positions at University of Toledo School of Medicine and Northeast Ohio Medical University.
She is a certified yoga teacher; and when she is not working, she is most likely getting on a plane to go to a fun destination. As a YPS convention chair, she is very excited to be able to coordinate and facilitate events that will bring together all hard-working medical students, residents, fellows and practicing physicians. She is always open to ideas, so feel free to reach out to her with any requests and/or suggestions for activities that you would like to see more of in the coming future.
Prachi Dua
