The President of India, Hon. Mr. Pranab Mukerjee conferred the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (PBS) for 2017 to Israel’s Dr. Lael Anson E. Best, for his services in the field of Medical Sciences. PBS is the highest honour conferred on overseas Indians by the Government of India. Dr. Lael Best was amongst the 30 Non Resident Indians who received this prestigious award for 2017.
Professor Lael Anson Best, a cardiothoracic Surgeon, completed both his Bachelor’s Degree in Medicine and his Master’s Degree in Surgery at the University of Gujarat, India before immigrating to Israel in 1979. He has been heading the Department of Thoracic Surgery at Rambam Medical Center in Israel for 25 years from the age of 38 and is only the third person from Israel to be conferred this prestigious award.
His special interests are surgery of the esophagus and trauma of the chest, lung cancer, and pediatric thoracic surgery, surgery of the mediastinum, lung and pleura. He also teaches residents and medical students and has earned numerous awards in his respective fields.
The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Non-Resident Indian Day), conventions have been held every year since 2003 and have been honoring overseas Indians and persons of Indian origin (PIOs) since the first edition.