CHICAGO, June 15 Peter W. Carmel, M.D., a pediatric neurosurgeon from Manhattan, N.Y., with a practice in Newark, N.J., was named president-elect of the American Medical Association (AMA), the nation's largest and most influential physician organization. Following a year-long term as president-elect, Dr. Carmel will assume the office of AMA president in June 2011.
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"I am honored to be elected to lead the nation's most influential physicians' organization," said Dr. Carmel. "As AMA president-elect, I pledge to serve as a strong voice and dedicated advocate for patients and physicians on the pressing issues confronting our health care system."
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Dr. Carmel has a distinguished record of service and leadership in organized medicine. He was first elected to the AMA Board of Trustees in 2002, and re-elected in 2006. A member of the AMA House of Delegates for 17 years, Dr. Carmel served as chair of the Specialty and Service Society and helped it achieve AMA bylaws recognition. While serving as chair of the AMA Council on Long Range Planning and Development, the council originated the AMA International Medical Graduates Section and established proportional representation for specialty medical society members. From 2006 to 2007, Dr. Carmel served as president of the AMA Foundation and currently sits on its board of directors.
Dr. Carmel has also served in numerous positions in both the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS). He was the delegate to the AMA from the CNS from 1985 to 2002.
A committed advocate for neurological research, Dr. Carmel served as chairman of the National Coalition for Research in Neurological Disease and Stroke, and subsequently as chair of the National Foundation for Brain Research. In 1969 Dr. Carmel founded the Neuroendocrine Laboratory within the Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (P&S).
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Dr. Carmel completed his medical training at the New York University School of Medicine and was a research associate at the National Institutes of Health. He completed his residency in neurosurgery at the Neurological Institute of New York and obtained his doctorate in neuroanatomy from P&S. At P&S he was the founding chief of the Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery and a professor of neurological surgery.
Dr. Carmel is currently chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery at the New Jersey Medical School and co-medical director of the Neurological Institute of New Jersey.
About the American Medical Association (AMA)
The American Medical Association helps doctors help patients by uniting physicians nationwide to work on the most important professional, public health and health policy issues. The nation's largest physician organization plays a leading role in shaping the future of medicine. For more information on the AMA, please visit www.ama-assn.org.
SOURCE American Medical Association
