Drauzio Varella
Encyclopedia
Drauzio Varella, MD, is a Brazilian physician
, educator, scientist
and noted medical science popularizer in the press and TV, as well as best-selling
author. In addition to medicine
, Varella is noted as a public commentator on issues such as prison conditions, social welfare, government
, literature
and his professed atheism
and skepticism
.
Varella came from a family of Portuguese and Spanish descent from São Paulo. He studied medicine
at the Medical School of the University of São Paulo
. While a student, he was one of the founders of a pre-med preparatory course with João Carlos di Genio
and other colleagues, and where he taught chemistry
for several years. This course later became the larger private educational system in Brazil, the Universidade Paulista and the Sistema Objetivo. Varella has won the prestigious Prêmio Jabuti
literary award.
and in the next 20 years he worked at the Hospital do Câncer of São Paulo, specializing in oncology
.
As a medical professor, he works at Universidade Paulista, but has taught also in several other institutions in Brazil and abroad, such as the New York Memorial Hospital, Cleveland Clinic
, Karolinska Institute, University of Hiroshima and the National Cancer Institute of Japan. One of his main fields of works has been AIDS
, specially the treatment of Kaposi's sarcoma
. He has had an active role in prevention
and educational campaigns about AIDS, being the first one to have a radio
program on the subject. From 1989 to 2001 he volunteered to work as an unpaid physician in one of the largest jails of Brazil, the Carandiru
, in order to tackle the fearsome AIDS epidemics raging among male inmates. As a result of this experience, he wrote a best-seller book describing the harrowing life of the inmates, which later became a movie picture (Carandiru, directed by Hector Babenco
), both winning accolades from the public and specialised national and international critics.
As the chairman of a cancer research institute at UNIP, Dr. Varella presently heads a research program on the potential of Brazilian Amazon
medicinal plants for treating neoplasms and antibiotic-resistant
bacteria
. This research is supported by the São Paulo Research Support Foundation
.
, particularly in the medical area. He writes columns for the largest Brazilian newspapers and was invited by the powerful Globo TV Network
to host a series of programs on the human body
, the brain
, first aid
, smoking
, pregnancy
, obesity
and others, which were exhibited at the Fantástico
show on Sundays. He is also the producer and host of a TV talk show
on medicine and health, which runs on several TV channels.
For his work as a writer, Dr. Varella received several prizes and awards, among them the Prêmio Jabuti
from the Brazilian Book Chamber, the International Book Fair of Bologna
, Bologna
, Italy
, and the Book Biennal of Rio de Janeiro (2001).
He has also written fiction
for adults and children and often a vocal supporter of scientific skepticism
.
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, educator, scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
and noted medical science popularizer in the press and TV, as well as best-selling
Best Seller
Best Seller is a 1987 film written by Larry Cohen, directed by John Flynn and starring Brian Dennehy and James Woods. The plot concerns a career hitman, played by Woods, who wants to turn his life story into a book, to be written by Dennehy's character, a veteran police officer turned...
author. In addition to medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
, Varella is noted as a public commentator on issues such as prison conditions, social welfare, government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
, literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
and his professed atheism
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
and skepticism
Skepticism
Skepticism has many definitions, but generally refers to any questioning attitude towards knowledge, facts, or opinions/beliefs stated as facts, or doubt regarding claims that are taken for granted elsewhere...
.
Varella came from a family of Portuguese and Spanish descent from São Paulo. He studied medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
at the Medical School of the University of São Paulo
University of São Paulo
Universidade de São Paulo is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian university and one of the country's most prestigious...
. While a student, he was one of the founders of a pre-med preparatory course with João Carlos di Genio
João Carlos di Genio
João Carlos di Genio is a Brazilian physician and educator. He created and is the main owner of the largest educational holding in the country, comprised by the Sistema Objetivo and the Universidade Paulista , a private university with more than 60 campuses all over Brazil.Di Genio started his...
and other colleagues, and where he taught chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
for several years. This course later became the larger private educational system in Brazil, the Universidade Paulista and the Sistema Objetivo. Varella has won the prestigious Prêmio Jabuti
Prêmio Jabuti
The Prêmio Jabuti is the most important and well-known literary award in Brazil. It was created in 1958 by Edgard Cavalheiro....
literary award.
Medical career
After graduation, he specialized in infectious diseases with Prof. Vicente Amato Neto, at the University of São Paulo and at the Hospital do Servidor Público de São Paulo. This work led him to develop an interest in immunologyImmunology
Immunology is a broad branch of biomedical science that covers the study of all aspects of the immune system in all organisms. It deals with the physiological functioning of the immune system in states of both health and diseases; malfunctions of the immune system in immunological disorders ; the...
and in the next 20 years he worked at the Hospital do Câncer of São Paulo, specializing in oncology
Oncology
Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer...
.
As a medical professor, he works at Universidade Paulista, but has taught also in several other institutions in Brazil and abroad, such as the New York Memorial Hospital, Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland Clinic
The Cleveland Clinic is a multispecialty academic medical center located in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The Cleveland Clinic is currently regarded as one of the top 4 hospitals in the United States as rated by U.S. News & World Report...
, Karolinska Institute, University of Hiroshima and the National Cancer Institute of Japan. One of his main fields of works has been AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
, specially the treatment of Kaposi's sarcoma
Kaposi's sarcoma
Kaposi's sarcoma is a tumor caused by Human herpesvirus 8 , also known as Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus . It was originally described by Moritz Kaposi , a Hungarian dermatologist practicing at the University of Vienna in 1872. It became more widely known as one of the AIDS defining...
. He has had an active role in prevention
Preventive medicine
Preventive medicine or preventive care refers to measures taken to prevent diseases, rather than curing them or treating their symptoms...
and educational campaigns about AIDS, being the first one to have a radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
program on the subject. From 1989 to 2001 he volunteered to work as an unpaid physician in one of the largest jails of Brazil, the Carandiru
Carandiru Penitentiary
Carandiru Penitentiary was a notorious prison located in São Paulo, Brazil. The prison was designed and built by Samuel das Neves in 1920, when it was considered a model-prison to meet the new demands of the 1890 criminal code. It was operational from 1956 to 2002 and, at its peak, was South...
, in order to tackle the fearsome AIDS epidemics raging among male inmates. As a result of this experience, he wrote a best-seller book describing the harrowing life of the inmates, which later became a movie picture (Carandiru, directed by Hector Babenco
Hector Babenco
Héctor Eduardo Babenco is an Argentine-born Brazilian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor.He has worked in several countries including Argentina, Brazil and the United States....
), both winning accolades from the public and specialised national and international critics.
As the chairman of a cancer research institute at UNIP, Dr. Varella presently heads a research program on the potential of Brazilian Amazon
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
medicinal plants for treating neoplasms and antibiotic-resistant
Antibiotic resistance
Antibiotic resistance is a type of drug resistance where a microorganism is able to survive exposure to an antibiotic. While a spontaneous or induced genetic mutation in bacteria may confer resistance to antimicrobial drugs, genes that confer resistance can be transferred between bacteria in a...
bacteria
Bacteria
Bacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...
. This research is supported by the São Paulo Research Support Foundation
Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo is a public foundation located in São Paulo, Brazil, with the aim of providing grants, funds and programs to support research, education and innovation of private and public institutions and companies in the state of São Paulo...
.
Science writing
Dr. Varella is also very active in the public understanding of sciencePublic understanding of science
Public understanding of science may refer to:* Public Understanding of Science , an academic journal* Public awareness of science...
, particularly in the medical area. He writes columns for the largest Brazilian newspapers and was invited by the powerful Globo TV Network
Rede Globo
Rede Globo , or simply Globo, is a Brazilian television network, launched by media mogul Roberto Marinho on April 26, 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Organizações Globo, being by far the largest of its holdings...
to host a series of programs on the human body
Human body
The human body is the entire structure of a human organism, and consists of a head, neck, torso, two arms and two legs.By the time the human reaches adulthood, the body consists of close to 100 trillion cells, the basic unit of life...
, the brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
, first aid
First aid
First aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by non-expert, but trained personnel to a sick or injured person until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. Certain self-limiting illnesses or minor injuries may not require further medical care...
, smoking
Tobacco smoking
Tobacco smoking is the practice where tobacco is burned and the resulting smoke is inhaled. The practice may have begun as early as 5000–3000 BCE. Tobacco was introduced to Eurasia in the late 16th century where it followed common trade routes...
, pregnancy
Pregnancy
Pregnancy refers to the fertilization and development of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, in a woman's uterus. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets...
, obesity
Obesity
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...
and others, which were exhibited at the Fantástico
Fantástico
Fantástico is a Brazilian weekly television newsmagazine broadcast on Sundays by Rede Globo.-Format:The show's first episode was on August 5, 1973 in black-and-white. It began as a variety show featuring music, dance numbers, teletheater, humor, mixed with a small amount of news. The following...
show on Sundays. He is also the producer and host of a TV talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
on medicine and health, which runs on several TV channels.
For his work as a writer, Dr. Varella received several prizes and awards, among them the Prêmio Jabuti
Prêmio Jabuti
The Prêmio Jabuti is the most important and well-known literary award in Brazil. It was created in 1958 by Edgard Cavalheiro....
from the Brazilian Book Chamber, the International Book Fair of Bologna
Bologna Children's Book Fair
The Bologna Children's Book Fair or La fiera del libro per ragazzi is the leading professional fair for children's books in the world.Since 1963, it is held yearly for four days in March or April in Bologna, Italy...
, Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and the Book Biennal of Rio de Janeiro (2001).
He has also written fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
for adults and children and often a vocal supporter of scientific skepticism
Skepticism
Skepticism has many definitions, but generally refers to any questioning attitude towards knowledge, facts, or opinions/beliefs stated as facts, or doubt regarding claims that are taken for granted elsewhere...
.
Works
- AIDS Hoje. In 3 volumes, in collaboration with Antonio Fernando Varella and Narciso Escaleira.
- Estação Carandiru, Companhia das Letras.
- Macacos, Publifolha ("Folha Explica" series)
- Nas ruas do Brás. Companhia das Letrinhas (children's book)
- De braços para o alto. Companhia das Letrinhas (children's book)
- Florestas do Rio Negro. With Alexandre Adalardo de Oliveira and Douglas C. Daly
- Maré - Vida na Favela
- Casa das Palavras, with Paola Berenstein, Ivaldo Bertazzo and Pedro Seiblitz (images).
- Por um fio. Companhia das Letras, 2004.
External links
- Professional website. (in Portuguese).
- more info (English)