WASHINGTON: Indian-American Gets Top Job In US’ Homeland Security Department

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden has
appointed Indian-American doctor Dr Pritesh Gandhi as Chief Medical Officer in
the Department of Homeland Security.

In this
role, Mr Gandhi serves as principal adviser to the Department of Homeland
Security secretary, assistant secretary for the Countering Weapons of Mass
Destruction Office and the Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator, a
media release said.

He will
lead on issues related to natural disasters, border health, pandemic response,
acts of terrorism and other human-caused disasters.

Mr Gandhi
was a Democratic Congressional Candidate last year in the 10th Congressional
District of Texas. He lost in the primaries.

A public health trained and
board-certified internal medicine specialist, Mr Gandhi most recently served as
the Associate Chief Medical Officer and Director of Adult Medicine at People’s
Community Clinic, an Austin-based federally qualified health center, which
provides care to over 20,000 uninsured and medically underserved Central
Texans.

He is a
Fulbright Scholar, Schweitzer Fellow, National Health Service Corps Scholar,
and was named a Presidential Leadership Scholar in 2018.