Lakshmanan Krishnamurti, MD has been named chief of pediatric hematology and oncology for Yale’s Department of Pediatrics and Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital effective October 1, 2021. Dr. Krishnamurti is an accomplished pediatric hematologist oncologist and an international leader in bone marrow transplant and the treatment of hemoglobinopathies. He joins us from Atlanta, where he is professor of pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine and director of the bone marrow transplantation program where he holds the Joseph Kuechenmeister Aflac Field Force Chair at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
Dr. Krishnamurti received his MBBS from University of Poona, Armed Forces Medical College, India and completed a pediatrics residency at University of Bombay, India. He attended University of Minnesota for his pediatric residency and fellowship in pediatric hematology, oncology and BMT.
Dr. Krishnamurti’s first faculty appointment was at the University of Minnesota. In 2001, he was recruited to the University of Pittsburgh where he was the director of hematology & hemoglobinopathies at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and director of the Comprehensive Hemoglobinopathy Program at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. In 2014, he moved to Emory University and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta to lead the bone marrow transplantation program and to serve as director of the Qualitative Research Core in the department of pediatrics. Under his leadership, underperforming programs he was recruited to grow have expanded and improved significantly — including increases in faculty size, new programs, the addition of clinical trials, and increase in transplants.
With successful funding for his clinical research on sickle cell disease for more than 22 years, Dr. Krishnamurti mainly focuses on clinical and patient centered outcomes, including systems approach to the delivery of care. This encompasses newborn screening, international outreach, community outreach, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and the use of technology and informatics to enhance delivery of care. He is the PI on two active U01 grants and a foundation grant. Dr. Krishnamurti is internationally known for his research efforts and is actively involved in identifying new opportunities to use bone marrow transplantation as a curative therapy for genetic diseases.
In his new role, Dr. Krishnamurti will oversee all elements of our pediatric hematology and oncology programs. He will focus his efforts on strengthening our current clinical programs, expanding our basic science, translational and clinical research efforts, and growing the section’s educational programs. He will also build stronger collaboration with the Yale Cancer Center and expand faculty development and mentoring efforts.
Department of Pediatrics leadership thanks Farzana Pashankar, MD, MRCP, for her outstanding leadership as interim chief of pediatric hematology and oncology for the past year. Dr. Krishnamurti will work closely with Dr. Pashankar to transition leadership of the section.