A.J. Vinaya Simha, M.D.

Qualifications

• M.B.B.S March,1993 (first division)
• M.D. (Physiology) March,1996 (with honors)
• ECFMG Certified (# 0-537-993-8) March 1996
• Diplomate of American Board of Internal Medicine August, 2000

Academic Training

• August 1987 - January 1992: Medical School at Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, India.
• March 1992 - March 1993: Pre Graduate Internship at St. Martha's Hospital, Bangalore and Primary Health Care centers in South Kanara district, India.
• July 1993 - June 1996: Post Graduate training in Physiology at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (A.I.I.M.S.), New Delhi, India.
• July 1997 - June 2000: Residency training in Internal Medicine at Interfaith Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY.
• July 2000 - June 2002 : Clinical Fellowship in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX.

Professional Experience

July 2000 - current:

Fellow in the Department of Endocrinology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX.
Involved in Patient care activities (In hospital care of patients admitted to the University Diabetes Treatment Center, Clinics and Consultation services at Parkland Memorial Hospital, Zale Lipshy University Hospital and V. A. Hospital, Dallas) and Research activities.

July 1999 - June 2000:

Chief Resident, Department of Internal Medicine, Interfaith Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY.
Clinical, administrative and teaching responsibilities

July 1997 - June 2000:

Resident in Internal Medicine, Interfaith Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY.
Involved in Ambulatory and Hospital based care of Patients at the Brooklyn Jewish Hospital and St. John's Episcopal Hospital, Brooklyn, NY.

June 1996 - Dec 1996:

Research Officer, ICMR Multicentric Trial of Traditional Remedies for Diabetes Mellitus, Department of Endocrinology, A.I.I.M.S., New Delhi, India.
Involved in patient care and administration of drug trial.

July 1993 - June 1996:

Junior Resident, Department of Physiology, A.I.I.M.S., New Delhi, India.
Involved in Teaching and Research activities.

Professional Memberships

• American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists
• American College of Physicians
• American Medical Association
• Association of Physiologists and Pharmacologists of India

Research Interests

• Lipodystrophy and other disorders of Lipid metabolism and storage
• Leptin biology and therapeutics
• Diabetes and Insulin Resistance

Research Experience

Currently involved as an investigator in the following Research projects:

• Study of the physical and metabolic characteristics of Lipodystrophy syndromes.
• Trial of Leptin in the treatment of Lipodystrophy syndromes.
• Comparison of a high carbohydrate diet to a high fat diet in the management of Type 2 Diabetes.
• Comparison of Simvastatin and Hormone Replacement Therapy in the treatment of dyslipidemia in post menopausal women.

Previous Research experience includes:

• Measurement of Insulin sensitivity by the Hyperinsulinemic Euglycemic clamp technique and assessment of its correlates - First report of the Metabolic Syndrome X in native Indian subjects.
• Effect of Lifestyle changes on Glucose Tolerance and Insulin Sensitivity in Type 2 Diabetics - Completed a pilot study on the effect of Yoga on Insulin sensitivity.
• Multicentric double blind trial of a traditional herbal remedy for Type 2 Diabetes.

Publications

1. Simha V. von Helmholtz. Indian J Physiol Pharmacol 1994; 38 (4): 238-239.

2. Simha V. Effect of Lifestyle changes on Glucose tolerance and Insulin sensitivity. M.D. (Physiology) thesis submitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, January 1995.

3. Simha V, Shah P, Modi GK, Chhajar B, Mahapatra SC, Sachdeva U and Bijlani RL. Correlates of Insulin Sensitivity in Non Insulin Dependent Diabetics. Indian J Physiol Pharmacol 1995;39(5): 25.

4. Simha V, Shah P, Modi GK, Sachdeva U and Bijlani RL. Effect of Yoga on Insulin Sensitivity. Diabetologia June 1997; 40 (Suppl 1): A377.

5. Simha V, Garg A. Body fat distribution and metabolic derangements in patients with Familial Partial Lipodystrophy associated with Mandibuloacral Dysplasia. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2002;87:776-785.

6. Oral EA, Simha V, Ruiz E, Sebring N, Andewelt A, Premkumar A, Snell P, Wagner A, DePaoli A, Reitman ML, Taylor SI, Gorden P, Garg A. Leptin replacement therapy for lipodystrophy. N Engl J Med 2002;346:570-578.

7. Simha V, Szczepaniak LS, Wagner A, DePaoli A, Garg A. Effect of leptin replacement on intrahepatic and intramyocellular lipid content in patients with generalized lipodystrophy - submitted to Diabetes Care for publication.

8. Simha V, Zerwekh JA, Wagner A, DePaoli A, Sakhaee K, Garg A. Effect of leptin replacement therapy on bone metabolism - J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2002, in press.

Presentations

1. Correlates of Insulin Resistance in Non Insulin Dependent Diabetics. 41st National Conference of the Association of Physiologists and Pharmacologists of India, Belgaum, India, December 1995.

2. Effect of Yoga on Insulin Sensitivity. 10th International Congress of Endocrinology, San Francisco, USA, June 1996.

3. Physical and Metabolic Characteristics of Patients with Mandibuloacral Dysplasia. 1st International Workshop on Lipodystrophy and related disorders, Bethesda, USA, March 2001.

4. Lipomatoses Syndromes. Grand Rounds, Department of Endocrinology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, March 2001.

5. Leptin replacement therapy for Lipodystrophy. Grand Rounds, Center for Human Nutrition, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, April 2002.

6. Effect of leptin replacement therapy on intrahepatic and intramyocellular lipid content in patients with generalized lipodystrophy. 62nd Scientific Session of the American Diabetes Association, San Francisco, CA, June 2002 .

Awards and Honors

Pre Graduate Schooling

• Secured 15th rank for the State in the X Standard Board Examination.
• Selected for the Government subsidized Medical education program for meritorious students.

Medical School

• Distinction in Physiology, Biochemistry, Pharmacology, Pathology, Microbiology and General Medicine, Mangalore University, India.

Post Graduate Training

• B.K. Anand Medal for the best postgraduate student in Physiology for the year 1996, A.I.I.M.S., New Delhi, India.

Residency Training

• Best Intern (PGY-1 Medical Resident) of the year 1997-98, Interfaith Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY.
• Best PGY-2 Medical Resident of the year 1998-99, Interfaith Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY.
• PGY-3 Chief Resident for the year 1999 - 2000, Interfaith Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY.