WASHINGTON — The American Medical Association (AMA) presented Georgia State Rep. Michelle Au, M.D., MPH, with the AMA Award for Outstanding Government Service. An anesthesiologist who works in Atlanta, Rep. Au has dedicated her time in office to improving health care access and public health communication and to finding science-based legislative solutions to reduce firearm violence.
Representative Au has proposed legislation that would extend universal background checks to private purchases and transfers of firearms and establish a five-day waiting period for firearms purchases. Recently, she helped transform the conversation about gun violence in Georgia by leading efforts to advocate for pediatric safe storage legislation in a bipartisan fashion. Her approach earned a public hearing on her pediatric safe storage legislation—the first substantive committee hearing for a gun safety bill in Georgia in years.
“In a very short time in the Georgia State Legislature, Rep. Au has distinguished herself as a champion for patients, physicians, and our health system in a time of particular need,” said AMA Board Chair Michael Suk, M.D., JD, MPH, MBA. “In a tough political environment, Rep. Au has been relentless in her push for evidence-based legislation to confront the public health crisis of firearm violence. The headwinds are strong and progress is slow, but she has not backed down in the face of adversity. For her tireless advocacy, it is an honor to present Rep. Michelle Au with the AMA Award for Outstanding Government Service.”
Representative Au served as a member of the Georgia State Senate from 2021 through 2023, where she was proud to be the first Asian woman elected to that body. In her first term in the Georgia General Assembly, she was named 2022 State Legislator of the Year by Everytown/Moms Demand Action for her work on advancing gun safety and was named Legislator of the Year by the Georgia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics for her strong advocacy on behalf of the health of the children of Georgia.
A second-generation Chinese-American whose parents immigrated to the United States in the 1960s, Rep. Au earned her B.A. in psychobiology from Wellesley College and her M.D. at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, where she completed residency training in both pediatrics and anesthesiology. She also holds a Masters Degree in Public Health from Columbia University.
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About the American Medical Association
The American Medical Association is the physicians’ powerful ally in patient care. As the only medical association that convenes 190+ state and specialty medical societies and other critical stakeholders, the AMA represents physicians with a unified voice to all key players in health care. The AMA leverages its strength by removing the obstacles that interfere with patient care, leading the charge to prevent chronic disease and confront public health crises and, driving the future of medicine to tackle the biggest challenges in health care.
