A graduate of RCSI, Dr Nandan Anavekar, has been selected to receive the 2006 Outstanding Achievement Award for the Internal Medicine Residency Training programme at the prestigious Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education in Minnesota.

The honour, which is awarded to four members of the graduating internal medicine class each year, is based on clinical competency, professionalism, scholarly activity, and contributions to the residency programme. According to his peers at the Mayo Clinic, Dr Anavekar, who graduated from RCSI in 2003, was praised for his outstanding fund of knowledge and ability to develop collaborative research efforts amongst his colleagues.

Commenting on the award, Professor Alan Johnson, Dean of Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, RCSI, said: “Nandan was an outstanding student with a stellar academic record and we are delighted to hear that he has continued to excel during his Residency Training. We are proud of his achievements which exemplify the ability of RCSI graduates to perform at the highest level worldwide.”

In addition to his clinical accomplishments, Dr Anavekar was commended for his productive research endeavours and was the recipient of a Mayo ENHANCE award. He has published one first author article in 'Current Opinions in Heart Failure', been an author on four additional manuscripts, and has seven manuscripts under review or in preparation. He has also showcased a number of poster presentations. In recognition of his outstanding performance, Dr Anavekar has been selected to become a Chief Medical Resident for the Mayo Internal Medicine Residency Programme beginning in July 2006. On completion, he will begin advanced training in cardiology.