Famous As Doctor
Born On 29 July 1977
Born In Hollis Hills, New York State, USA
Nationality American
The life and feats of Dr. Balamurali Ambati, the real life Doogie Howser, is indeed inspiring. A child prodigy, Balamurali re-defined the minimum age limit for a student to gain admissions in medical school in the west. Graduating high school at a young age of 13 and from there going on to complete medical schooling at the age of 17, Ambati continues to amaze with his astronomical feats. Coming from a background that gave importance to education, his passion for science and mathematics was quite understandable. He soon developed a keen interest in clinical ophthalmology, conducted extensive research, and introduced different ways to change the occurrence of corneal angiogenesis. Balamurali is apparently the world's youngest doctors to graduate at the young age of seventeen. However, his achievements don't end there. Even after 16, Ambati continues to hit headlines for his contribution and research on ophthalmology. Balamurali has recieved many prestigious awards for his medical brilliance that were achieved in a very short span of time. This write-up unfolds interesting details on this extraordinary personality's life and work.
Early Life
Balamurali Ambati was born on July 29, 1977. His mother was a mathematician by profession and well versed in Tamil literature, while his father was a doctor. Hence, it is clear that Balamurali hailed from a family of intellectuals. After his birth, his family moved to USA for better opportunities. Both his parents encouraged him to focus on education in order to achieve his goal. Ambati's father motivated his young son to try studying things two times faster, since his son showed a higher level of IQ as compared to other normal children of his age. When Balamurali approached the New York University at a very young age, he was rejected by the university authorities because of his young age and looked at him with much skepticism. However, his father took up the initiative to persuade the administrative head of the college to let him study at his own pace and not to dissuade Ambati from nurturing his aspirations. By the time he was 13 years of age, he had graduated from the New York University and went on to earn his medical degree from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 1995 at the young age of 17.
Career
After his basic medical education, Ambati began to show a great interest in ophthalmology which led to his enrollment in Harvard University to specialize in this branch of science. It was during his tenure in Harvard he developed an interest in discovering new methods to deal with corneal angiogenesis. He studied on cornea and refractive surgery from Duke University in 2002.Meanwhile, Balamurali was awarded with many esteemed awards from several international and Indian organizations. After completing his education, Ambati went on to join as a member of the Medical College of Georgia. While he practiced ophthalmology, he also managed to continue his research work. He has also volunteered to work with Orbis International, a non-profit organization, which offered medical services to many under-developed countries. It was Balamurali Ambati's way of giving back to society in the form of providing medical services, spreading knowledge and introducing innovative techniques and strategies to improve medical health around the globe. Presently, he is a professor and director for corneal research in the University Of Utah School Of Medicine.
Achievements and Awards
Balamurali's achievements is par excellence, a genius who has made significant contributions towards medical science. Ambati and his brother combined in an intellectual pursuit to co-publish a book on AIDS to spread awareness and clarify the myths associated with the disease in 1989, when they were in college. Dr Ambati has been a part of several medical competitions. Some of the science contests that he had won are Westinghouse Science Talent Search and International Science & Engineering Fair. He has also been honored with the Raja-Lakshmi Award, a Chennai based organization that acknowledged his work in ophthalmology.
Time Line
1977: He was born on 29 July.
1989: Ambati and his brother published a book on AIDS.
1995: He graduated on May 19.
1995: He entered the Guinness Book of World Records for being the youngest doctor in the world.
2002: Completed fellowship at Duke University.
