Obama singles out Indian American physician for praise.By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: “Doctor, thank you,” President Barack Obama said as he lauded the contributions of Cleveland-based Dr. Sumita Khatri, who was among those who were invited to be present at the White House on Monday when the president announced an ambitious goal to cut pollution emitting from coal-fired power plants.
“Dr. Sumita Khatri has spent her career researching the health impacts of pollution at the Cleveland Clinic, and helping families whose lives are impacted every single day,” Obama stated while singling out the Indian American doctor for praise.
An adult pulmonary and critical care physician with a specialized focus in asthma. Dr. Khatri earned her medical degree at Ohio State University and trained in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Cleveland Clinic, according to the HealthSciences Institute.
She served on the faculty of Emory University Medical Center, receiving her Master’s in Clinical Research, and is currently co-director of the Cleveland Clinic Asthma Center.
“Her clinical and research interests include the effects of air pollution and environmental triggers on asthma, evaluating biomarkers of asthma, and community engagement with respect to asthma and lung health. In this regard, she has been involved with the NIH-sponsored Severe Asthma Research Program, collaborative research with the USEPA, and medical industry-associated asthma therapy trials,” disclosed HealthSciences.
Khatri is also co-chair of the Asthma/COPD Assembly of the Healthy Homes Advisory Council in Cuyahoga County, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Back in 2013, she co-hosted Northeast Ohio’s first World Asthma Day, designed to break down barriers between area medical institutions in order to educate patients and their families about properly managing the lung ailment.
That effort, along with her service on local and regional American Lung Association committees, led to the group naming the institute a regional “Lung Champion, reported Crain’s Cleveland Business.
“I feel good when I hear about people with asthma getting the treatment they need,” Khatri told the Midwestern publication.