Dr. Pat Basu, a Stanford University Medical Center radiologist, has been named by President Obama as one of 13 White House Fellows for the 2010-11 year, and will spend the next year serving as a full-time assistant to a high-level government official in the administration, to be decided later this month.

Basu will meet with First Lady Michelle Obama, Cabinet secretaries and other political dignitaries in Washington, D.C., later this month to discuss his assignment for the next year. While fellows’ responsibilities range from chairing interagency meetings and designing federal policies to drafting speeches for cabinet secretaries, they will also participate in an education program consisting of roundtable discussions with renowned leaders from the private and public sectors, and trips to study U.S. policy in action both domestically and internationally, according to the White House website.

“I expect this to be very different from my job as a physician, and quite frankly I anticipate a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to serve and learn in the highest levels of federal government,” Basu said.

Although he said that he is prohibited from discussing the details of his position due to the top-secret security clearance granted with his job, Basu indicated that he hopes to embody the ideals that President Lyndon Johnson envisioned when he founded the program in 1964: “to bring fresh ideas and perspective this year and, more importantly, to develop the skills that will help me serve my country in a better way after this year.”

In addition to working as a radiologist at the Stanford Medical Center and the VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Basu is the University course director for health policy, finance and economics, and lectures nationally and internationally on these topics. He serves as a business consultant to medical centers, Fortune 500 companies and venture capital firms, and co-founded “ExtendMD,” a Web portal designed to enhance outpatient care. He also founded STARS Luncheon, a non-profit designed to support lower socioeconomic children for future college and career success.

For the next year, however, Basu indicated that he would focus entirely on his fellowship, which includes taking a leave of absence from the Stanford faculty.

“For the next year, I will be entirely focused on serving my country and developing further skills to continue to do so in the future,” Basu said. “I envision that as I return to being a physician, an educator and a business advisor, this experience working in the highest levels of the federal government will add great perspective.”

“As a physician, I have the privilege of helping one patient at a time and, through teaching, I can help one student at a time — both of these are vitally important,” he added. “However, in the long run, I hope to apply the experience and skills I’ve learned to try and improve the health and education of hundreds or perhaps even thousands of Americans someday.”

“This year’s White House Fellows are comprised of some of the best and brightest leaders in our country,” Michelle Obama said in a White House statement. “I applaud their unyielding commitment to public service and dedication to serving their community.”

Basu’s road to the White House began approximately one year ago. On Monday, June 21, he was officially selected after a year-long application process and multiple rounds of interviews. At the national finalist round of interviews in Washington, D.C. last month, Basu engaged in “an exciting, intense and exhausting series of interviews, activities and meals with the President’s Commission,” where he answered questions on topics ranging from health care reform to the handling of the Gulf oil spill. The candidates also did group exercises where judges observed as they worked to tackle problems such as a flu outbreak or nuclear disaster.

“As I look back,” Basu said, “I realize I’ve already learned a great deal from the world-class judges, the other phenomenal applicants and by going through the selection process itself.”

“Several Stanford faculty in the medical school and business school went out of their way to support me — I really can’t say enough how helpful and supportive Stanford University and the Stanford community have been,” he added.

Basu’s appointment as a White House fellow will begin on Aug. 30 in Washington, D.C.

He holds both an M.D. and M.B.A. from the University of Chicago, and graduated with an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois.