Will serve as Physician-in-Chief of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital
New Brunswick, NJ: Dr. Vikas Dharnidharka, a board-certified pediatric nephrologist and transplant specialist recognized nationally and internationally for his clinical expertise and clinical and translational research, will join Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School as Henry Rutgers Professor and chair of the Department of Pediatrics. Dr. Dharnidharka also will serve as physician-in-chief of The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital (BMSCH) at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, an RWJBarnabas Health facility.
He joins Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, from Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine and St. Louis Children’s Hospital, where he served as the Alexis F. Hartmann Sr., MD Endowed Professor of Pediatrics, vice chair for clinical investigation in the Department of Pediatrics, and professor and chief of its Division of Pediatric Nephrology, Hypertension and Apheresis. For the past two years, he has co-led the NIH-funded Washington University Pediatric Center of Excellence in Nephrology.
“Dr. Dharnidharka is a nationally recognized leader in nephrology, pediatrics and transplantation, and we are thrilled to welcome him as our new chair of the Department of Pediatrics,” said Amy P. Murtha, MD, dean of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. “His dedication to advancing healthcare through seminal research and superior clinical care will be invaluable to our community and the broader field.”
“I am honored to have the opportunity to direct the RWJMS Pediatrics Department to be the academic flagship; we want to be among the very best nationally. I also look forward to working with the team at The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital and RWJBarnabas Health leadership to help advance children’s healthcare throughout all our health system locations across the state,” he added.
In his previous institutions, Dr. Dharnidharka has played a role in transforming the divisions’ clinical, research, and educational activities, from expanded clinical services and programs, to increases in research funding and publications—all while earning strong educational ratings from its pediatric residents.
In his clinical practice, he provides highly specialized care to children and young adults with all types of kidney disease, with a particular focus on end-stage renal disease and kidney transplantation. He is frequently consulted internationally to advise with difficult complications of solid organ transplantation such as post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLD) and infections from Epstein-Barr or BK virus (a polyomavirus) nephrology.
