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In part 1 of this Exclusive Interview, Viswanathan Mohan talks with Diabetes in Control Publisher Steve Freed about the start of his career and the growth of his renowned diabetes centers in India.
Viswanathan Mohan, PhD, MD, DSc is the chairman of Dr. Mohan’s Diabetes Specialties Centre and president and director of the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation in Chennai, India.
Transcript of this video segment:
Freed: This is Steve Freed with Diabetes in Control and we’re here at the American Diabetes Association, 78th Scientific Sessions. We have a special guest with us, he’s actually receiving a big award and we’ll get into that. But maybe we can start off with and, I guess, we can begin with your name, and that’s V. Mohan?
Mohan: Yes. I’m Dr. V. Mohan.
Freed: And you actually came from India?
Mohan: Yes.
Freed: And my first question is do you — well, first of all, let’s talk a little bit about what you do and your practice and give us a little background
Mohan: I am one of those rare individuals who had the privilege of having a father who was the pioneer in diabetes in India. So, my father can be considered like the Joslin of the US. He started the first diabetic clinic in India in the year 1948, and so he’s often referred to as the Father of Diabetology. He worked in the government sector for about 25 years and then he had to leave early due to some political reasons. And then wanted to set up his own private diabetes center. And so, he invited me to do medicine, so that I can help him with his diabetes clinic. So, I had no idea of doing medicine at that time, and so since he — the circumstances were that I had to join my father, so I joined medicine and joined my father the same day, literally. And started working on diabetes right from my first year of medical school. I didn’t waste any time. So, I was doing my medical school and then in the afternoon, evening, worked with my father, and that went on. So, from the age of 18 I have been working on diabetes and spent the first 10 years as a student, and then working with my father. The next 10 years, I spent full-time with my father as a diabetologist. After 20 years, I left my father and said I wanted to start something on my own. And so, my father said, “If you’re smart enough, you’ll go out empty-handed. You’ll go out without any money and let’s see what you’ll do.” So, on that challenge, I came out with virtually nothing in the pocket or in the bank and started on my own in a small little clinic, which then grew and grew and grew because I’d already spent 20 years of my life — and I was 38 at that time — and so, I had already like, people already in their 50s, so it’s kind of a very precocious start. So then I started off and then we started branching out. And today I run a chain of 42 diabetes clinics. It’s probably the largest in the world. We have 430,000 registered diabetic patients across the country, so almost half a million patients within our own system. Ninety-three doctors work for me and we have 1,300 staff who work, so that’s just the clinics part. And then we have the research centers, which are in five locations including a six and a half acre campus with 40,000 sq. ft. built-ups, the largest in Asia. So, I have 25 scientists who work for me. I have 25 PhD students that are affiliated to the university. Four universities have affiliated us for taking on PhD students. Plus we run a series of courses; fellowship in diabetes, post-doctoral fellowship in diabetes, ophthalmology courses, podiatry courses, so that’s a whole academy that we run. And then we do a lot of charities. So, I run a number of charitable clinics, four in fact, where thousands of patients receive free diabetes clinic. It’s so happened that the history repeated itself and my daughter joined me when she was 18. She’s now here and she’s a diabetologist. She married a physician who’s also a diabetologist, so we have a third generation of diabetologists. She’s pretty well accomplished herself, so they have also traveled here to see me receive the award tomorrow.
Freed: So, how many people came with you?
Mohan: Two. From the family, I have two. But then from my centers, I have four more who have come. So, there are about seven of us. But then of course, the whole Indian continent and there are about a thousand people here from India, diabetologists. Almost every year today, the ADA, about a thousand people come and they all look up to me because I was a President of the Indian Diabetic Association. So, they’re all here and they’re all waiting to see me get the award tomorrow. (Laughs)