Washington: An eminent Indian-American doctor has gifted USD 2 million to a US university for establishing a chair to support an advanced cardiac imaging programme. With the USD 2 million gift from Vijay Sanghvi, MD, the 'Drs Vijay and Khushman Sanghvi Endowed Chair in Cardiac Imaging' or the Sanghvi Chair, has been created to support a faculty member at the University Of Cincinnati College Of Medicine in the city of Cincinnati. Dr Sanghvi is the first American of Indian origin to endow a chair position at the University of Cincinnati, a media release said.

The Sanghvi Chair will be given to a faculty member within the division of cardiovascular health and disease to help enhance educational efforts related to the UC cardiology fellowship programme, his or her own clinical and research efforts, in particular by adopting the most advanced imaging technologies, and efforts in supervising two imaging labs within the UC Health system. An active member in Cincinnati's medical community since 1966, Dr Sanghvi served as medical director from 1971 to 1990 for the division of cardiology at Jewish Hospital, where he was responsible for introducing what now represents the core techniques used in the cardiology field.

"It has been a thrill to witness the evolution and dramatic growth of what we refer to today as modern cardiology resulting in significant improvements for cardiovascular disease-related outcomes," says Dr Sanghvi, now an adjunct professor of clinical medicine within the division of cardiovascular health and disease at UC. "I'm delighted to be the first American of Indian origin to endow this position in a city and institution that has been a part of so many historical firsts," he said.