USU Professor Named Among 2019 Carnegie Corp. “Great Immigrants, Great Americans”

bus stop poster in NYC of Jindal
By Sharon Holland

For more than a decade, Carnegie Corporation of New York has publicly honored naturalized U.S. citizens who have made a significant impact to the nation. This year, Dr. Rahul Jindal, a professor in Department of Surgery at Uniformed Services University (USU), has been named one of 38 “Great Immigrants, Great Americans” by the organization for his humanitarian work that “has saved countless lives worldwide.”

Jindal, a transplant surgeon, is originally from India. He came to the U.S. in 1991 seeking a better future for his children. Over the past decade alone, Dr. Jindal has visited India, Guyana and Suriname multiple times to perform more than 500 surgical procedures, including kidney transplants. He and his team conducted medical courses to help save lives and improve the quality of life for more than 1,000 people. His work in public health via the SEVAK program in India and in Guyana has touched the lives of more than 100,000 people and is being replicated in other parts of India and South America. He has conducted groundbreaking surgical procedures, such as the first-ever pancreas islet cell transplant after trauma, to treat U.S. service members injured in combat. Dr. Jindal was a Fulbright Distinguished Chair to India (Nov 2015-May 2016), during which he shared his vast knowledge of organ transplantation with several universities across India. His work with the Indian-American community to promote blood and bone marrow drives in Indian-American temples across the U.S led to more than 2,500 additional units of blood collected over the past seven years.

collage of many professional headshots

The annual “Great Immigrants, Great Americans” honor was established by Carnegie Corporation to commemorate the legacy of its founder, Scottish immigrant Andrew Carnegie, who believed strongly in both immigration and citizenship, according to the announcement. “The 2019 honorees represent 35 countries of origin, a range of personal immigration experiences, and high-level leadership in diverse fields, all united through their shared experience of becoming Americans.”

Dr. Jindal is receiving this honor alongside such notables as the Darius Adamczyk, chairman and CEO of Honeywell, Wolf Blitzer, longtime CNN reporter, Marc Tessier-Lavigne, president of Stanford University, and Peggy Cherng, co-founder and co-CEO of Panda Restaurant Group, Inc., among many others.

Jindal in front of people speaking“As we celebrate these 38 extraordinary individuals, we are reminded of the legacy of our founder, Andrew Carnegie, who showed the country how immigrants contribute to the great, unfinished story that is America,” said Vartan Gregorian, president of Carnegie Corporation of New York. “We are also reminded of Carnegie’s observation that immigrants who become citizens are the most patriotic Americans because their citizenship is earned, not bestowed upon them. History teaches us that each new generation of immigrants strengthens the vibrant diversity of our nation and its democracy, and continuously renews the American dream.”

“Since we are ‘America’s Medical School,’ it is fitting that our colleague Dr. Jindal, a first-generation American, is one of this year’s Carnegie honorees,” said Dr. Art Kellermann, dean of the Hébert School of Medicine at USU. “He personifies USU’s commitment to national service and global health.”

Jindal and his fellow honorees will be recognized with a full-page public service announcement in the New York Times on July 4th, via a social media initiative by Carnegie Corp. on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, and on electronic kiosks throughout Manhattan and Queens.