In addition to teaching at the Medical School, Murthy currently works at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. In 2008, Murthy helped found Doctors for Obama, which later became Doctors for America.

The group says that it is non-partisan and does not support any particular political candidate or administration, but it has expressed support for President Obama’s healthcare reforms and filed an amicus brief for the Supreme Court in support of the ACA’s individual insurance mandate.

While Murthy himself has stated that he spent most of his life outside of politics, in recent years he has become involved, he said, in efforts to influence healthcare reform. He was appointed by President Obama in 2011 to a group that advises the Surgeon General.

“He has shown himself to be a caring and compassionate physician,” said Kachalia. “He has been an advocate of improving our health care system and improving access for everybody.”

Murthy is also co-founder and chairman of TrialNetworks, a clinical trial optimization system, and co-founder of VISIONS Worldwide, a non-profit organization that focuses on HIV/AIDS education in India and the United States.

—Staff writer Fatima N. Mirza can be reached at fatima.mirza@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @FatimaNMirza.