CHICAGO – S. Bobby Mukkamala, MD, a board-certified otolaryngologist—head and neck surgeon, was elected to the American Medical Association Board of Trustees on Tuesday, June 13. A graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School, he is in solo, private practice in Flint, Mich.

“I’m honored to be selected by my peers to join AMA leadership as we fight to maintain and improve access to health care for all Americans,” Doctor Mukkamala said.

After completing residency at Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago in 2000, Doctor Mukkamala returned to practice in his hometown where he shares an office with his wife, Nita Kulkarni, MD, an obstetrician-gynecologist.

Doctor Mukkamala has been active in the AMA since residency. Early in his career he served as chair of the Michigan State Medical Society (MSMS) Young Physicians Section (YPS) and as a Michigan Delegate to the AMA YPS. In 2008 he received the AMA Foundation’s “Excellence in Medicine” Leadership Award. A member of the Michigan Delegation to the AMA for the past 13 years, he was elected to the AMA’s Council on Science and Public Health in 2009 where he has served as chair for the past year. 

In addition to leadership roles at the AMA, Doctor Mukkamala has served as a member of the MSMS Board of Directors since 2011 and as chair for the past year. He also served as president of the Genesee County Medical Society (GCMS) in 2010-2011 and continues to serve on the GCMS Board of Directors.

Public health issues from AIDS to Zika are important to Doctor Mukkamala and none more so than in his own city of Flint where two years ago high levels of lead leached into the drinking water. As the immediate past chair of the Community Foundation of Greater Flint, he and the foundation board became the clearinghouse for funding projects focused on mitigating the effects of lead in local children. He now chairs Flint Kids Learn, a supporting organization of the Community Foundation, which is working to increase access to high quality early education for children; a proven strategy for helping children who have been exposed to lead.

Doctor Mukkamala also is dedicated to the revitalization of Flint, the once booming home of General Motors that has since experienced a steep decline in auto-related jobs. He has investments in a half-dozen entrepreneurial businesses that are aimed at creating a vibrant downtown and bringing people back into the city.

He and his wife, Nita, also are investing in Flint through the Endowed Health Professions Scholarships at the University of Michigan, Flint, which they establish in 2012. They enjoy family time with their twin teenaged sons, Deven and Nikhil, who are active in high school band and robotics, respectively.