Karthik V. Sarma, M.S., a medical student at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA was elected to the American Medical Association (AMA) Board of Trustees. Mr. Sarma, who previously served on the AMA Council on Medical Service, is currently pursuing dual degrees in the UCLA MD/PhD program, and his primary research focus is the development of novel artificial intelligence techniques for medical applications.

“The practice of medicine is in the midst of great change, and as the youngest member of the board, I look forward to bringing my experience and perspective on innovation to our discussions,” Sarma said. “I will support the AMA’s critical efforts to ensure that the continual changes in health policy, technology and the practice of medicine all lead to our common goal of improving the lives of our patients.”

Sarma previously served on the AMA Council on Medical Service, served as the founding chair of the AMA Medical Student Section's Health Information Technology Task Force. He has also served on the CMA Board of Trustees representing the medical students and is currently the vice chair of CMA's Subcommittee on Health Information Technology.

Sarma is co-founder and chief technology officer of SimX, Inc., which has developed the first professional grade virtual and augmented reality platform for medical simulation training. Born and raised in Chicago, Ill., he is an alumnus of the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools and received his Bachelor of Science with Honors in Computer Science from the California Institute of Technology.