AAPI gives co-founder Dr. Navin C. Shah Lifetime Achievement Award

The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin has presented its Lifetime Achievement Award to Maryland urologist Dr. Navin C. Shah, recognizing his long record of leadership, advocacy and service to Indian American physicians and global healthcare efforts.

The award is one of AAPI’s highest honors and is given to members who have shown sustained vision, service and major contributions to the organization. In Shah’s case, the recognition also reflects his role as one of AAPI’s co-founders and his decades of work on behalf of foreign medical graduates and medical education initiatives in India.

Shah grew up in Pune and graduated from BJ Medical College before moving to the United States to continue his medical career. Over time, he became a leading urologist in the Washington, D.C., area while also helping build what became one of the most influential professional organizations for Indian American physicians.

In accepting the award, Shah said he was grateful to AAPI’s leadership for the recognition and looked back on the organization’s early years. He recalled that while serving as president of the Indian Medical Association in Washington, D.C., in 1981, he appealed through the Embassy of India’s newspaper India News to existing Indian medical associations to come together and form a national body of physicians of Indian origin. He said he later contacted 12 association leaders, and AAPI was formed in 1982.

According to Shah, the organization was created with two main goals: to fight discrimination against foreign medical graduates in the United States and to help strengthen healthcare and medical education in India.

Shah said he became aware of discrimination against foreign medical graduates after taking on a leadership role in AAPI. He said Indian physicians were a major part of that group, and he worked to bring together other national associations under one umbrella. The effort, he said, eventually led to a broader coalition of foreign-trained physicians from more than 100 countries.

The campaign for equal treatment took years, Shah said, and included work with a lobbyist and advocacy in the U.S. Congress. He said the struggle lasted about seven years before Congress passed an equality bill that was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush in March 1992. The source did not provide additional details on the legislation beyond Shah’s account of the effort and its outcome.

Shah also described AAPI’s role in India as extending well beyond advocacy in the United States. As AAPI president and later as education director, he said, he helped start continuing medical education programs, trauma care training for surgeons, infectious disease initiatives and equipment donations to hospitals in India.

He said the organization’s mission in India also included physician training, specialty development and support for hospitals. Over the years, he added, he worked with Indian government leaders and healthcare officials to support medical education and patient care. His current efforts include prostate cancer screening initiatives and partnerships between medical institutions in the United States and India, including collaborations involving BJ Medical College in Pune.

Vandana Agarwal, chair of the AAPI Awards Committee 2026, congratulated Shah and said the honor reflects his lifelong commitment to the organization. In an email, she called the award a testament to his decades of dedication, leadership and outstanding contributions to AAPI. She also said his vision and commitment have helped shape the group and set a high standard for others.

Agarwal added that Shah’s legacy would continue to inspire future generations of physicians.

Shah’s path mirrors the growth of AAPI itself. Born in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, he came to the United States to pursue medicine and went on to become a prominent physician while helping create a professional network for Indian American doctors. Alongside his medical work, he emerged as a strong voice for foreign-trained physicians and for issues affecting healthcare access and education.

Shah later wrote about his life and advocacy in his book, Karma and the Destiny of an Indian American Surgeon. The book traces his journey from India to the United States, his work as an AAPI co-founder and his efforts on behalf of Indian American physicians. The source notes that the book was published by The American Bazaar.

The recognition from AAPI highlights both Shah’s individual contributions and the broader history of the organization he helped build. From its beginnings in the early 1980s to its ongoing efforts in physician advocacy and medical education, AAPI has remained connected to many of the priorities Shah outlined at the time of its founding.

For Shah, the award marks another milestone in a career that has combined clinical work, organizational leadership and public advocacy. The source does not report any additional ceremony details beyond the honor itself and Shah’s remarks about the award and AAPI’s origins.