8^th Euro Global Diabetes Summit and Medicare Expo

Biography

Sunita Dodani M.B.B.S (MD), MSc, FCPS, PhD, is a physician with training in Cardiology and cardiovascular epidemiologist. She is an Associate Professor in the Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Florida(UF), Jacksonville, Florida with joint appointments in the Center for Health Equity and Quality Research (CHEQR), College of Medicine, UF and department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health and health Professions, UF-Gainesville. She received her undergraduate degree from the Aga Khan University, one of the premier private universities in Pakistan. In addition, she also received Masters in Epidemiology from the Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada, and PhD in Epidemiology (majors in cardiovascular disease epidemiology) from the University of Pittsburg, Pittsburgh USA. Her research interests are focused on health disparities related to cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes in African Americans, Hispanics and South Asians. Dr Dodani’s future goal is to reduce health disparities and develop national level registries for cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes for ethnic minorities. Dr Dodani is NIH funded and recipients of several extramural funding including NIH. Dr. Dodani has successfully completed several research projects in Pakistan as well as in the US that focused on the distribution and determinants of cardiovascular diseases in ethnic minorities. Her current focus involves profiling non-traditional and genetic cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors (particular emphasis on diabetes and dyslipidemias) in South Asian immigrants. She has worked with many ethnic minorities helping to reduce health disparities. For example Fit Body and Soul, Diabetes prevention program for African American churches was funded by NIH. Similarly HEALS-Healthy Eating and Living spiritually is hypertension control program modified from PREMIER and DASH studies for African Americans. In addition CHHIL study (Children’s Healthy Habits Integrated for Life) is a childhood obesity control program for African American kids. Dr Dodani received a National Gold Medal as Best Young Researcher of Pakistan in 2002, in addition to several awards for her achievements in this area. She also received the “Community Service Award” from the International Society on Hypertension in Blacks (ISHIB).” Dr. Dodani is a reviewer on several peer reviewed journals and has published more than 50 multi-disciplinary articles in peer-reviewed journals.

Research Interest

Her research interests are focused on health disparities related to cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes in African Americans, Hispanics and South Asians