Aniyizhai Annamalai, MBBS, MD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, was awarded the 2020 Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award at Yale School of Medicine’s virtual Commencement Ceremony on May 18.
The award, established in 1998 and presented by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, recognizes a faculty member who demonstrates particular compassion and sensitivity in the delivery of care to patients. It is one of the medical school’s highest teaching awards.
Students and faculty were asked to nominate faculty who embodied outstanding humanitarian care. The following is an outstanding comment made on Annamalai’s behalf:
“(Dr. Annamalai) has shown an enduring dedication to the refugees who have been resettled in the area, overseeing countless projects, including running the Refugee Health Clinic at YNHH, collaborating with IRIS, and overseeing the health literacy curriculum project that we developed for IRIS, which has been very successful. Dr. Annamalai is not only passionate and dedicated to these projects, but she also has always displayed a high level of compassion, sensitivity, and humanity when interacting with patients and students alike. The high level of depth and closeness that she shares with her patients bears witness to these attributes. I am glad to give her my highest recommendation for this award. I think also that, in these dark days when xenophobia and hatred are running rampant in the country, what better way to reinscribe the importance of shared humanity than by recognizing a champion for refugees.”
Annamalai is Director of the Yale Adult Refugee Clinic and the Wellness Center at the Connecticut Mental Health Center.