I am currently working at Diacon Hospital, Bangalore, India. We are a specialized diabetes care and research hospital. The focuses of our research include inflammation and cardiovascular risk factors in individuals with diabetes, cardiovascular risk factors in young onset diabetes and cardiovascular outcome trials of anti-diabetic drugs.

Individuals with young onset diabetes (YOD), i.e., type 2 diabetes under the age of forty years often have uncontrolled diabetes in addition to multiple cardiovascular risk (CV) factors. Due to the asymptomatic nature of the disease, complications can be present at the time of diagnosis of diabetes. Awareness regarding the need for evaluation of cardiovascular risk factors, and screening for complications of diabetes at the time of diagnosis, is lacking.

In this study, we used a comprehensive approach to evaluate 1500 individuals with new onset YOD for CV risk factors and complications of diabetes. 27.6% of the individuals were found to have hypertension (pre-existing and newly diagnosed hypertension). Other risk factors like smoking, high BMI [i.e. overweight BMI (23-24.9 kg/m2), obesity BMI (≥25 kg/m2)] and dyslipidemia were present in 24.3%, 83.2% and 62.4% of the study population. Ninety-five percent of the study population were in need of statin therapy to reduce CV risk based on (American Diabetes Association) ADA recommendations for CV risk reduction.

The presence of CV risk factors at a young age highlights the importance of screening for CV risk factors, even at younger ages of diabetes diagnosis in India.

Sosale B, Sosale AR, Mohan AR, R M Anjana, Kumar PM, Saboo B, Kandula S. Cardiovascular risk factors, micro and macrovascular complications at diagnosis in patients with young onset type 2 Diabetes in India: CINDI 2. Indian J Endocr Metab 2016; 20:114-18. (PMCID: PMC4743371)

There are a number of amazing inspiring studies and publications connecting diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. In recent times, a group of oral antidiabetic drugs called (sodium glucose co-transporter) SGLT2 inhibitors have shown additional pleotropic benefits, reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure and reduction of composite CV outcomes and heart failure hospitalisation. This is a landmark in the field, as they are the first oral glucose lowering drugs to demonstrate this benefit. Hence, the first two publications on the cardiovascular risk reduction with these drugs are amongst my favourite manuscripts.

Zinman B, Wanner C, Lachin J et al for the EMPA REG OUTCOME investigators. Empagliflozin, Cardiovascular Outcomes, and Mortality in Type 2 Diabetes. N Engl J Med 2015;373:2117-28.

Neal B, Perkovic V, Mahaffey K, de Zeeuw D, Fulcher G, Erondu N et al. Canagliflozin and Cardiovascular and Renal Events in Type 2 Diabetes. New England Journal of Medicine. 2017; DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1611925.

My research is mostly clinical and our hospital is equipped to conduct clinical research (research assistants, anthropometry measurements, medical histories and questionnaires, echocardiography, pulse wave analysis, ultrasound, electrocardiogram, laboratory facilities for biochemical analysis).

I had the opportunity of attending the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) 200th anniversary celebrations at Harvard Medical School, Boston.  I was one of the recipients of the ‘NEJM scholar award’ during the event. The chance to meet the NEJM editorial team and pioneers in the field of cardiology like Dr. Eugene Braunwald made the experience very special.

Another such memorable experience was winning the best paper award at the Diabetic Foot Study Group (DFSG), part of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), at their annual conference in Potsdam, Germany. The paper was on the association of asymptomatic peripheral arterial disease and cardiovascular disease in individuals with diabetes in India.

Both these experiences, very early in my residency have continued to linger on as fond memories to motivate me.

Learning to deal with disappointments, and picking up and going on has been the greatest challenge so far.

I will be attending the EASD conference in Lisbon, Portugal in September 2017. Travelling to the United States to attend the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) conference has earned me the most travel miles so far.

I hope to be able to continue my work and learning in the field of diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. I hope to understand more on the links between inflammation, endothelial function and cardiovascular risk factors in individuals with diabetes.

Every scientist and doctor is a role model in his or her own way. I look up to everyone as someone who can teach me something. If I had to pick one person it would be Dr. Rohit Kulkarni, Kulkarni Labs, Joslin Diabetes Centre, Harvard Medical School, MA. He is a substantial contributor to the field of diabetes and is currently one of the leading scientists working on stem cells in individuals with diabetes.

The contribution to science involves a process committed to life-long learning. This is a message I would always like to remember and apply. I would advise every young emerging talented researcher to be patient and committed to this process.