The award was presented by Dr. Francesco Giorgino, Senior Vice President of EASD, in recognition of Dr V Mohan’s outstanding global contributions to diabetes research, clinical care, and education.
Dr Mohan oversees a network of 50 diabetes centres across eight Indian states, providing care for over 665,000 registered patients. His institution is recognised as an IDF Centre of Excellence in Diabetes Care, and he also serves as President and Director of the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF), one of Asia’s largest stand-alone diabetes research centres.
Reflecting on his journey, Dr V Mohan said, “One of my proudest accomplishments has been to help establish diabetes as a specialty in India. We trained thousands of doctors and built a national program for diabetes educators, from having none in 1995, today, India has nearly 29,000 diabetes educators supporting patients.”
He added that his research has always aimed at community benefit: “Every study we did had translational value towards the community, whether prevention of type 2 diabetes, new methods of diagnosis, or genetics. I recall a three-month-old child once diagnosed with type 1 diabetes for life; a simple genetic test revealed a KATP channel mutation, and we could switch the baby from insulin to oral sulfonylureas. That was life-changing.”
Looking ahead, he expressed optimism: “Thirty years ago, a glucometer cost a month’s salary of a common man. Our efforts endeavored to cut costs by 90%, and usage soared. We hope the same will happen with continuous glucose monitoring devices.”
With an illustrious academic career, Dr Mohan has authored more than 1,780 peer-reviewed publications, including over 1,150 original research articles, amassing over 232,000 citations and an h-index of 167. His pioneering work has significantly advanced the understanding and management of diabetes both in India and globally.
Over his career, Dr Mohan has received numerous accolades, including the Padma Shri (2012), the Dr. B.C. Roy National Award, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Centenary Award, and the Dr. Harold Rifkin Distinguished International Service in the Cause of Diabetes Award from the American Diabetes Association(ADA). He was also recently elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE), one of the few Indian doctors to achieve this distinction.
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