Aseem Shukla facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Aseem Shukla
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| Nationality | American |
| Education | Cooper City High School |
| Alma mater | University of Florida (BS) University of South Florida College of Medicine (MD) |
| Occupation | Director, Minimally Invasive Surgery, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Professor of Surgery (Urology), Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania |
Aseem Ravindra Shukla is an American doctor who specializes in surgery for children. He is the director of minimally invasive surgery at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. This means he performs operations using very small cuts, which helps patients heal faster. He is also a professor of surgery at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
Besides his work as a doctor, Shukla is a co-founder of the Hindu American Foundation. This group works to educate people about the Hindu faith and represents the Hindu community in the United States.
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Medical Career
Education and Training
Aseem Shukla went to Cooper City High School. He earned his first degree from the University of Florida and then became a medical doctor at the University of South Florida. He stayed there to train in general surgery and urology, which is the study of the urinary system.
Later, he completed special training in pediatric urology at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Before returning to CHOP, he was the director of urology at a children's hospital in Minnesota. At CHOP, Dr. Shukla focuses on robotic-assisted laparoscopy (a type of surgery using a tiny camera) and treating conditions like urinary reflux, hydronephrosis (swelling of the kidneys), and hypospadias.
Helping Children Around the World
Dr. Shukla works to improve children's urology care globally. Since 2009, he has led a yearly teaching program in Ahmedabad, India. There, he teaches other doctors how to perform complex surgeries for children. This program helps many children with a rare condition called bladder exstrophy.
Shukla also volunteers as a surgeon for the Foundation for the Children of Iran. This organization, founded by Princess Yasmine Pahlavi, helps Iranian children get medical care they need.
Work with the Hindu Community
Shukla is a co-founder and board member of the Hindu American Foundation, which started in 2002. He often writes about his faith and has taken part in public discussions about Hinduism.
Discussion About Yoga
In 2010, Shukla had an online discussion with the author Deepak Chopra about the history of yoga. Shukla argued that yoga's roots are in Hinduism. Chopra believed yoga was a spiritual tradition from India that existed before modern Hinduism.
Chopra said yoga came from a universal wisdom taught by ancient sages. Shukla responded by saying that it was important to recognize yoga's Hindu heritage. This discussion was featured in major magazines like The New York Times and Newsweek.
Discussion About Hindu Texts
In March 2010, Shukla had another online discussion, this time with Professor Wendy Doniger. He disagreed with how she wrote about some sacred Hindu texts in one of her books. Shukla felt that her interpretation was not respectful to the passages he considered holy. Doniger responded by saying her book was popular in India and invited critics to point out specific errors in her work.
