Sunita De Sousa

Sunita De Sousa

Adelaide Medical School

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD (as Co-Supervisor) - email supervisor to discuss availability.

A/Prof Sunita De Sousa is a Staff Specialist in Endocrinology and Genetics at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, and a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Adelaide. She has completed an MSc at the University of London, and fellowships in pituitary endocrinology at St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney and clinical genetics in the SA Clinical Genetics Service. Her PhD on the genetics and clinical aspects of prolactinomas was awarded the 2020 University of Adelaide Doctoral Research Medal.

With ongoing research funding from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Endocrine Society of Australia and Royal Adelaide Hospital, Sunita’s postdoctoral studies focus on monogenic diabetes and hereditary pancreatitis. Her recent research also covers pituitary tumours, paragangliomas, hyperparathyroidism and congenital adrenal hyperplasia.

Sunita was most recently elected to the Council of the Endocrine Society of Australia. She also serves on the eviQ Cancer Genetics Reference Committee and the US Endocrine Society Steering Committee for Endocrine Cancers Special Interest Group, and she was a co-author of the recent Australian hyperparathyroidism guidelines. With the aid of local and interstate collaborators, Sunita is the founding member of EndoGen, a national network of endocrine genetic centres which has led to Australia’s first national endocrine genetics MDT meeting.

  • Appointments
    Date Position Institution name
    2021 - ongoing Clinical Associate Professor University of Adelaide
    2019 - ongoing Staff Specialist Endocrine & Metabolic Unit, Royal Adelaide Hospital
    2018 - ongoing Staff Specialist South Australian Adult Genetics Unit, Royal Adelaide Hospital

  • Awards and Achievements
    Date Type Title Institution Name Country Amount
    2020 Award University Doctoral Research Medal University of Adelaide Australia -

  • Education
    Date Institution name Country Title
    2020 University of Adelaide Australia PhD
    2016 Royal Australasian College of Physicians Australia FRACP
    2015 University of London United Kingdom MSc
    2009 University of New South Wales Australia MBBS (Hons)

  • Research Interests
    Endocrinology Genetics

  • Journals
    Year Citation
    2023 Hayes, A. G., Shirazi, M. G., Thiyagarajah, A., Torpy, D. J., & De Sousa, S. M. C. (2023). Cabergoline-associated valvulopathy of the tricuspid valve in the treatment of prolactinoma.. Endocrine oncology (Bristol, England), 3(1), e220086.
    DOI
    2023 De Sousa, S. M. C., Lenders, N. F., Lamb, L. S., Inder, W. J., & McCormack, A. (2023). Pituitary tumours: molecular and genetic aspects. Journal of Endocrinology, 257(3), 16 pages.
    DOI
    2023 De Sousa, S. M. C., Wu, K. H. C., Colclough, K., Rawlings, L., Dubowsky, A., Monnik, M., . . . Torpy, D. J. (2023). Identification of monogenic diabetes in an Australian cohort using the Exeter maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) probability calculator and next-generation sequencing gene panel testing. Acta Diabetologica, 8 pages.
    DOI
    2022 Seabrook, A., Wijewardene, A., De Sousa, S., Wong, T., Sheriff, N., Gill, A. J., . . . Tucker, K. (2022). MEN4, the MEN1 Mimicker: A Case Series of Three Phenotypically Heterogenous Patients With Unique CDKN1B Mutations. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 107(8), 2339-2349.
    DOI Scopus9 WoS10 Europe PMC5
    2022 Wu, D., Bampton, T. J., Scott, H. S., Brown, A., Kassahn, K., Drogemuller, C., . . . Coates, P. T. (2022). The clinical and genetic features of hereditary pancreatitis in South Australia.. The Medical journal of Australia, 216(11), 578-582.
    DOI
    2022 De Sousa, S. M. C. (2022). Dopamine agonist therapy for prolactinomas: do we need to rethink the place of surgery in prolactinoma management?. Endocrine oncology (Bristol, England), 2(1), R31-R50.
    DOI
    2022 De Sousa, S. M. C., Carroll, R. W., Henderson, A., Burgess, J., & Clifton-Bligh, R. J. (2022). A contemporary clinical approach to genetic testing for heritable hyperparathyroidism syndromes. Endocrine, 75(1), 23-32.
    DOI Scopus6 WoS6 Europe PMC2
    2021 Miller, J. A., Gundara, J., Harper, S., Herath, M., Ramchand, S. K., Farrell, S., . . . Grossmann, M. (2021). Primary hyperparathyroidism in adults—(Part II) surgical management and postoperative follow-up: Position statement of the Endocrine Society of Australia, The Australian & New Zealand Endocrine Surgeons, and The Australian & New Zealand Bone and Mineral Society. Clinical Endocrinology.
    DOI Scopus2
    2021 Milat, F., Ramchand, S. K., Herath, M., Gundara, J., Harper, S., Farrell, S., . . . Grossmann, M. (2021). Primary hyperparathyroidism in adults—(Part I) assessment and medical management: Position statement of the endocrine society of Australia, the Australian & New Zealand endocrine surgeons, and the Australian & New Zealand bone and mineral society. Clinical Endocrinology.
    DOI Scopus2 Europe PMC2
    2021 Meyer, E. J., Spangenberg, L., Ramírez, M. J., De Sousa, S. M. C., Raggio, V., & Torpy, D. J. (2021). CBG Montevideo: A Clinically Novel SERPINA6 Mutation Leading to Haploinsufficiency of Corticosteroid-binding Globulin. Journal of the Endocrine Society, 5(9), 8 pages.
    DOI Scopus1 WoS1
    2020 De Sousa, S. M. C., Toubia, J., Hardy, T. S. E., Feng, J., Wang, P., Schreiber, A. W., . . . Torpy, D. J. (2020). Aberrant Splicing of SDHC in Families With Unexplained Succinate Dehydrogenase-Deficient Paragangliomas. Journal of the Endocrine Society, 4(12), 1-12.
    DOI Scopus6 WoS6 Europe PMC6
    2020 De Sousa, S. M. C., Manavis, J., Feng, J., Wang, P., Schreiber, A. W., Scott, H. S., & Torpy, D. J. (2020). A putative role for the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) gene in a patient with cyclical Cushing's disease. BMC Endocrine Disorders, 20(1), 6 pages.
    DOI Scopus4 WoS4 Europe PMC2
    2020 De Sousa, S. M. C., Baranoff, J., Rushworth, R. L., Butler, J., Sorbello, J., Vorster, J., . . . Torpy, D. J. (2020). Impulse control disorders in dopamine agonist-treated hyperprolactinemia: prevalence and risk factors.. The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism, 105(3), 108-118.
    DOI Scopus36 WoS24 Europe PMC12
    2019 McCabe, M. J., Gauthier, M. E. A., Chan, C. L., Thompson, T. J., De Sousa, S. M. C., Puttick, C., . . . Lakhani, S. (2019). Development and validation of a targeted gene sequencing panel for application to disparate cancers. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 16 pages.
    DOI Scopus12 WoS12 Europe PMC10
    2019 Du, Y. T., Moore, L., Poplawski, N. K., & De Sousa, S. M. C. (2019). Familial GATA6 mutation causing variably expressed diabetes mellitus and cardiac and renal abnormalities. Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism Case Reports, 2019(1), 6 pages.
    DOI Scopus6 WoS2 Europe PMC2
    2019 De Sousa, S. M. C., Saleem, M., Rankin, W., & Torpy, D. J. (2019). Serum prolactin overestimation and risk of misdiagnosis. ENDOCRINOLOGY DIABETES & METABOLISM, 2(3), 4 pages.
    DOI
    2019 De Sousa, S. M. C., Wang, P. P. S., Santoreneos, S., Shen, A., Yates, C. J., Babic, M., . . . Scott, H. S. (2019). The Genomic Landscape of Sporadic Prolactinomas. Endocrine Pathology, 30(4), 318-328.
    DOI Scopus9 WoS8 Europe PMC7
    2019 De Sousa, S. M. C., & Jesudason, D. (2019). Cover Image, Volume 90, Issue 1. Clinical Endocrinology, 90(1).
    DOI
    2019 De Sousa, S. M. C., & Jesudason, D. (2019). Rebound vertebral and non-vertebral fractures during denosumab interruption in a postmenopausal woman. Clinical Endocrinology, 90(1), 250-252.
    DOI Scopus4 WoS3 Europe PMC2
    2018 De Sousa, S. M. C., Hardy, T. S. E., Scott, H. S., & Torpy, D. J. (2018). Genetic testing in endocrinology. Clinical Biochemist Reviews, 39(1), 17-28.
    Scopus11 Europe PMC4
    2018 De Sousa, S., Sheriff, N., Tran, C., Menzies, A., Tsang, V., Long, G., & Tonks, K. (2018). Fall in thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) may be an early marker of ipilimumab-induced hypophysitis. Pituitary, 21(3), 274-282.
    DOI Scopus24 WoS21 Europe PMC12
    2017 De Sousa, S. M. C., McCormack, A. I., McGrath, S., & Torpy, D. J. (2017). Prolactin correction for adequacy of petrosal sinus cannulation may diminish diagnostic accuracy in Cushing's disease. Clinical Endocrinology, 87(5), 515-522.
    DOI Scopus15 WoS14 Europe PMC8
    2017 De Sousa, S. M. C., Meyer, E. J., Rankin, W., Brautigan, P. J., Burt, M. G., & Torpy, D. J. (2017). Vasculogenic hyperprolactinemia: severe prolactin excess in association with internal carotid artery aneurysms. Pituitary, 20(6), 676-682.
    DOI Scopus4 WoS4 Europe PMC4
    2017 De Sousa, S. M. C., Stowasser, M., Feng, J., Schreiber, A. W., Wang, P., Hahn, C. N., . . . Gagliardi, L. (2017). ARMC5 is not implicated in familial hyperaldosteronism type II (FH-II). Journal of Human Hypertension, 31(12), 857-859.
    DOI Scopus3 WoS1 Europe PMC3
    2017 De Sousa, S., Chapman, I., Falhammar, H., & Torpy, D. (2017). Dopa-testotoxicosis: disruptive hypersexuality in hypogonadal men with prolactinomas treated with dopamine agonists. Endocrine, 55(2), 618-624.
    DOI Scopus35 WoS26 Europe PMC13
    2017 De Sousa, S., McCabe, M., Wu, K., Roscioli, T., Gayevskiy, V., Brook, K., . . . McCormack, A. (2017). Germline variants in familial pituitary tumour syndrome genes are common in young patients and families with additional endocrine tumours. European Journal of Endocrinology, 176(5), 635-644.
    DOI Scopus28 WoS21 Europe PMC16
    2016 De Sousa, S., Haghighi, K., Qiu, M., Greenfield, J., & Chen, D. (2016). Synchronous Nesidioblastosis, Endocrine Microadenoma, and Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasia in a Man Presenting with Hyperinsulinemic Hypoglycemia. Pancreas, 45(1), 154-159.
    DOI Scopus9 WoS9 Europe PMC8
    2016 De Sousa, S. M. C., Kassahn, K. S., McIntyre, L. C., Chong, C. E., Scott, H. S., & Torpy, D. J. (2016). Case report of whole genome sequencing in the XY female: identification of a novel SRY mutation and revision of a misdiagnosis of androgen insensitivity syndrome. BMC Endocrine Disorders, 16(1), 58-1-58-7.
    DOI Scopus7 WoS4 Europe PMC2
    2016 de Sousa, S. M. C., & Mccormack, A. I. (2016). Cutaneous lichen amyloidosis in multiple endocrine neoplasia. Internal Medicine Journal, 46(1), 116-117.
    DOI Scopus2 WoS1 Europe PMC1
    2016 De Sousa, S., & Norman, R. (2016). Metabolic syndrome, diet and exercise. Best Practice and Research: Clinical Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 37, 140-151.
    DOI Scopus41 WoS31 Europe PMC26
    2016 De Sousa, S. M. C., Maiti, K., Smith, R., & McCormack, A. I. (2016). Corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) expression in the dermoid component of ovarian teratomas. Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, 30(5), 867-869.
    DOI
    2015 De Sousa, S. M. C., Earls, P., & McCormack, A. I. (2015). Pituitary hyperplasia: case series and literature review of an under-recognised and heterogeneous condition. ENDOCRINOLOGY DIABETES AND METABOLISM CASE REPORTS, 2015, 7 pages.
    DOI WoS13 Europe PMC14
    2015 Lam, T., Chan, M. M. K., Sweeting, A. N., De Sousa, S. M. C., Clements, A., Carlino, M. S., . . . Chipps, D. R. (2015). Ipilimumab-induced hypophysitis in melanoma patients: An Australian case series. Internal Medicine Journal, 45(10), 1066-1073.
    DOI Scopus26 WoS21 Europe PMC12
    2014 De Sousa, S. M. C., Long, G. V., & Tonks, K. T. (2014). Ipilimumab-induced hypophysitis: Early Australian experience. Medical Journal of Australia, 201(4), 198-199.
    DOI Scopus6 WoS6 Europe PMC4

  • Book Chapters
    Year Citation
    2018 Hardy, T. S. E., De Sousa, S. M. C., & Norman, R. J. (2018). Obesity and reproduction. In M. J. Skinner (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Reproduction (pp. 87-93). Academic Press.
    DOI Scopus1
    2015 De Sousa, S., & Norman, R. J. (2015). A patient found to have Cushing syndrome. In N. S. Macklon, H. M. Fatemi, R. J. Norman, & P. Patrizio (Eds.), Case Studies in Assisted Reproduction: Common and Uncommon Presentations (pp. 50-52). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    DOI
    2013 Hardy, T., De Sousa, S., & Norman, R. J. (2013). Polycystic ovary syndrome: Prognosis and risk of comorbidity. In Novel Insights into the Pathophysiology and Treatment of PCOS (pp. 123-137). Future Medicine Ltd.
    DOI Scopus2

  • Conference Papers
    Year Citation
    2018 De Sousa, S. M. C., McCormack, A. I., McGrath, S., & Torpy, D. J. (2018). Use of prolactin in inferior petrosal sinus sampling is misleading. In CLINICAL ENDOCRINOLOGY Vol. 89 (pp. 32). Perth, AUSTRALIA: WILEY.
    WoS1

  • Conference Items
    Year Citation
    2017 De Sousa, S. M. C., Chapman, I. M., Falhammar, H., & Torpy, D. J. (2017). Dopa-testotoxicosis: a novel drug toxicity of dopamine agonists in male prolactinoma patients. Poster session presented at the meeting of CLINICAL ENDOCRINOLOGY. WILEY-BLACKWELL.
    2017 De Sousa, S. M. C., Stowasser, M., Feng, J., Schreiber, A. W., Hahn, C. N., Torpy, D. J., . . . Scott, H. S. (2017). Sequence variants in <i>ARMC5</i> are not implicated in familial hyperaldosteronism type II. Poster session presented at the meeting of CLINICAL ENDOCRINOLOGY. WILEY-BLACKWELL.
    2017 Meyer, E. J., De Sousa, S. M. C., Burt, M. G., & Torpy, D. J. (2017). Cavernous internal carotid artery ansurysm: a rare cause of marked hyperprolactinaemia. Poster session presented at the meeting of CLINICAL ENDOCRINOLOGY. WILEY-BLACKWELL.

  • Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
    Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
    2022 Co-Supervisor The Genetic Epidemiology of Hereditary Pancreatitis in Australia and its effects on patients of Total Pancreatectomy with Auto Islet Transplantation. Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Denghao Wu

  • Committee Memberships
    Date Role Committee Institution Country
    2019 - ongoing Co-Chair ESA Early Career Researcher Committee Endocrine Society of Australia Australia
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