Brevard Indo-American Medical and Dental Association

BIMDA Conference April 5, 2025

Hundreds of physicians expected to attend

Written by Michelle Spitzer | FLORIDA TODAY

Several hundred doctors are expected to take part in a biannual medical conference Saturday featuring lectures from prominent physicians and concluding with a festive banquet.

The BIMDA, Brevard Indo-American Medical and Dental Association, conference will be at the Melbourne Rialto Place.

“Members just can’t wait for this,” said Glad Kurian, co-founder of the nonprofit group. “Most people you tell about a medical conference they just start yawning, but not this one. It’s in very high demand from the members. It seems to hit all the right points.”

Open and free of charge to all physicians, the conference includes lectures from experts in various fields including heart surgery, and understanding hyponatremia, a metabolic condition in which there is not enough sodium in the body.

All three local hospital networks — Health First, Wuesthoff and Parrish Medical Center — jointly sponsor the BIMDA conference.

The daylong event is capped off with a celebratory banquet and dinner. The keynote speaker at the evening event will be Dr. George Thomas, chairman of the Florida Board of Medicine.

About 400 people are expected to attend the banquet, which is open to spouses and includes a Kids Club for children. Dinner will be served, and entertainment will be provided by Asian Cultural Association of Orlando and includes a Kathak North Indian dance performance and the Bhangra dance team.

Dress for the banquet is business or traditional Indian attire.

“This conference is the perfect combination of business and pleasure,” Kurian said.

This is the ninth conference BIMDA has held. They take place twice a year. Nationally known speakers from all over usually travel to speak at the conference.

This year, they include two well-known heart surgeons from Columbia University Division of Cardiology and Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach.

“There will be recent state-of-the-art technology presented and (physicians) will be made aware of new techniques in the medical field that they can implement,” said Dr. Mahesh Soni, an Indian Harbour Beach pediatrician and one of the founders of BIMDA.

Dr. Prakash Reddy, a pulmonary, sleep and critical care physician with MIMA and president of BIMDA, said the event is beneficial to doctors for many reasons.

“It includes physician development and professional networking, allowing us to connect with major hospitals, groups, specialties, BCMS, FMA, AAPI and other medical nonprofit groups,” Reddy said. “In addition to all of these services BIMDA also supports cultural social and community service and charitable giving to various organizations.”

BIMDA was formed in 1996 and serves as a model for other medical organizations around the state.

Spitzer can be reached at 321-242-3722 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

 

 

 

BIMDA rising fast as a Leading AAPI Chapter in Florida

Page 44, Summer 2011 Edition, AAPI National Journal

AAPI’s vision for strength in all places big and small, is evidenced with BIMDA’s meteoric rise in a small town called Melbourne, FL. The 1997 AAPI Convention in Orlando was the motivation to form this Chapter, to uphold AAPI values and to grow the member base of a strong Indian Physician population.

BIMDA is the vision of two unique individuals:
Dr. Mahesh Soni, Pediatrician and Glad Kurian,Senior Consultant with Morgan Stanley. Since the past 17 years, the two have built up an organization that has flourished each year with changing leadership of new Presidents and Committee Members. Dr. Prakash Reddy, current President of BIMDA, manages the group with help from Glad Kurian, Honorary Executive Director.

At the recent Medical Expo Gala held on April 30, Dr. Ravi Jahagirdar [AAPI Treasurer] along with Dr. MPR Nathan [AAPI Journal Editor-in-Chief], attended the dinner as special guests. In attendance was the Florida leadership: Dr. Sanjiv Kapil, President of CAPI, Orlando; Dr. Vraj Panara and Dr. Mahendra Shah, Past Presidents, CAPI; Dr. Humayun Shareef, President of TIPS of Florida; Dr. Asha Gupta, President, IPOF; and Dr. Aravind Pillai, National President, AKMG. The daytime CME conference hosted diverse speakers on topics related to: Cancer Research, Radiology, Domestic Violence, Vascular Disease, COPD, ACO and Healthcare Reform. Keynote Speaker for the evening was Dr. Nagi Kumar, Senior Research Professor with USF and Moffitt Cancer Center. A good part of the evening was devoted to introducing several charitable organizations on stage and awarding them each a generous check on behalf of BIMDA. Recipients included a dozen worthy organizations from diverse segments of society.

BIMDA holds AAPI as its national affiliate and has partnered with all major healthcare players. There is no place in this town where an Indian Physician is not recognized as a member of the prestigious “BIMDA” group. Dr. Glen Bryan, renowned State Leader and former President of the FMA, chimes “BIMDA is a fabulous group! They are doing all the right things to stay relevant in a field that is fast diminishing the role of the physician as an independent provider of healthcare. We need more groups like BIMDA to bring us together as physicians, to have one voice in medicine! We need BIMDA and all similar groups to protect our profession as Doctors of Medicine!”

>> Click here << to download the entire Summer Edition of AAPI Journal 2011