Distinguished Scientist Cyrus Desouza, M.B.B.S.

This profile is part of a series to highlight the researchers who will be honored Feb. 2 at a ceremony for UNMC’s 2014 Scientist Laureate, Research Leadership, Distinguished Scientist and New Investigator Award recipients.

• Name: Cyrus Victor Desouza, M.B.B.S.
• Title: Professor, internal medicine
• Joined UNMC: August 2002
• Hometown: Goa, India

Describe your research briefly in layman’s terms.
My research centers on diabetes and insulin resistance. How do we improve outcomes in diabetes? How do we reduce complications, including heart attacks, strokes and other blood vessel problems in diabetes? How do we prevent people who have pre-diabetes from progressing to diabetes?

How does your research contribute to science and/or health care?

Diabetes is an alarming epidemic, here in the U.S. as well as globally. More than 30 million people in the U.S. have diabetes. Another 86 million have pre-diabetes. The risk of developing cardiovascular complications in patients with diabetes is two to four times higher than the general population. The cost of health care dollars attributed to diabetes was more than $245 billion in 2012. We are conducting research in: a) delivering what we already know, effectively to patients with diabetes; b) developing new ways to decrease cardiovascular risk in diabetes; and c) preventing the progression of pre-diabetes and diabetes is very necessary to halt this epidemic.

What is the best piece of advice anyone ever gave you, professional or personal?

Don’t deprive yourself of anything, but do everything in moderation

List two things few people know about you.

• My last name is actually Portuguese.
• I have climbed to the base camp of Mt Everest in my younger days.