Dr. Viswanathan Mohan, the renowned founder of Dr. Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities, is set to receive two prestigious awards in the United States on Thursday, June 20th, becoming the first Indian to be honored with such distinguished accolades in the field of diabetes research.

One of the awards Dr. Mohan will receive is the Kelly West Award for Epidemiology, one of the highest honors bestowed by the American Diabetes Association (ADA). This award recognizes significant achievements and contributions in the field of diabetes epidemiology and is named after Professor Kelly West, regarded as the father of diabetes epidemiology. Dr. Mohan is the first diabetologist and scientist from India to receive this award. As part of the honor, he will deliver a lecture at the ADA conference, which will later be published in their journal, "Diabetes Care." Speaking from the US, Dr. Mohan expressed his delight and revealed that his lecture would focus on "What Have We Learnt About the Epidemiology of Diabetes in South Asians."

The second accolade comes from the Emory Global Diabetes Research Center (EGDRC), where Dr. Mohan is the first recipient of this new award. In his lecture at Emory, he will discuss the two-decade-long collaboration between Emory University and the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation. Dr. Mohan has extensively researched and published numerous papers on the epidemiology of diabetes and its complications, particularly in South Asia. His work includes the ICMR-INDIAB report, a national cross-sectional study that examines metabolic non-communicable diseases in India. His research has provided novel insights into the pathophysiology of diabetes in South Asians, where insulin deficiency appears to be a more significant issue than insulin resistance.

Dr. Mohan founded Dr. Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities in 1991 and has since expanded it into a leading chain of 50 diabetes care centers across India. Based in Chennai, his extensive studies on diabetes and related non-communicable diseases have had a profound impact on understanding the condition in India. His research underscores the critical need to focus on diabetes management in India, a country currently home to 101 million diabetes patients and 136 million prediabetes cases.

Dr. Mohan’s contributions to diabetes research and care have made him a prominent figure in the medical community, and these awards are a testament to his dedication and impact in the field.