Drauzio Varella

Drauzio Varella, MD, (General Brazilian: [ˈd̪ɾäwzjʊ väˈɾɛ̞lɐ]; born May 3, 1943 in São Paulo, Brazil) 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 received the Prêmio Jabuti literary award in 2000 for his book Estação Carandiru.

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 immunology and in the last 20 years he worked at the Hospital do Câncer of São Paulo, specializing in oncology.