NEW YORK – Dr. Hari Shukla, a pioneering pediatric physician and longtime advocate for children and immigrant communities, was awarded the Key to the City of New York on Dec. 29, 2025, during a ceremony hosted by Mayor Eric Adams at City Hall.
The event took place in the historic Blue Room in Lower Manhattan, where the mayor praised Shukla’s decades-long impact on medicine, particularly in pediatric and neonatal care.
“I want to first start with Dr. Shukla,” Adams said in his remarks. “He’s a titan in medicine, a man whose work has changed medical science across the entire globe. Every child that you save goes on to have families and contribute to our society. You have helped shape the future of the human race, and I cannot thank you enough for helping our children.”
Adams also highlighted Shukla’s community leadership, citing his work through South Asians of New York Inc. and the New American Voters Association, two nonprofit organizations focused on civic engagement and advocacy within the South Asian American community.
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Shukla, an Indian American physician, professor and humanitarian, has spent more than four decades in pediatrics. He is triple board-certified in pediatrics, neonatal-perinatal medicine and forensic medicine, and serves as a clinical associate professor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Over the course of his career, he has trained more than 300 medical residents and contributed to advancements in neonatal care that are used worldwide.
One of Shukla’s most influential contributions is his 1986 research on the umbilical catheter equation, published in a journal of the American Medical Association. The equation is now widely used in hospitals across the United States and internationally. Medical experts estimate that more than 400 million critically ill infants globally have benefited from catheter placements guided by Shukla’s work. The research remains freely accessible to clinicians.
In 1987, Shukla became one of the first physicians in the United States — and the first of Indian origin globally — to use surfactant therapy in premature infants, a treatment that is now a standard of care worldwide. He has also received recognition from Pasteur Mérieux Connaught, a polio vaccine manufacturer, for his commitment to polio eradication efforts.
The Key to the City is New York City’s highest municipal honor. With this recognition, Shukla becomes the first Indian American physician to receive the award.
The honor adds to a growing list of accolades. In 2025, Shukla became the first South Asian physician to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the president of the United States. In 2024, he was awarded New York State’s highest civilian honor, the Liberty Award. He has also been recognized by multiple governors, including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, and former Gujarat Gov. K.K. Viswanathan.
Photographs from the ceremony were taken by Onik Rahman.