UNMC diabetes researcher named to endowed professorship









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Cyrus Desouza, M.D.
A UNMC endocrinologist, Cyrus Desouza, M.D., has been named the first recipient of the Ervin and Dorothy Schulz Medical Professorship for Diabetes Research.

The endowed professorship, created in 2002 through a $510,000 estate gift made to the University of Nebraska Foundation, was named after lifelong farmers from Doniphan, Neb. The gift, given to honor the Schulz family, supports diabetes, cancer, or cardiac research and recognizes a prominent researcher.

The professorship was established in the UNMC Department of Internal Medicine by the late Ervin and Dorothy Schulz.

Dr. Desouza is chief of the Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism and professor in the UNMC Department of Internal Medicine. He also is on staff at the Omaha VA Medical Center.

Dr. Desouza is leading two new National Institutes of Health-funded research studies. One will directly compare several type 2 diabetes treatments to determine which is the most effective, and the other will evaluate whether vitamin D can prevent diabetes.

He also has played a national leadership role in the VA MOVE! obesity program. His primary research interest is to understand the mechanisms that cause blood vessel damage in diabetes so drugs can be developed for prevention and treatment.