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Kumaravel Rajakumar, MBBS, MS

  • Professor of Pediatrics

Kumaravel Rajakumar, MBBS, MS is an experienced pediatrician, and an accomplished clinical researcher and a medical educator. He joined the division of General Academic Pediatrics in 2000 and currently serves as a Professor of Pediatrics. Prior to coming to Pitt, Rajakumar served as Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the West Virginia University School of Medicine in Morgantown, WV from 1995-2000. 

Rajakumar graduated from Madras Medical College of the University of Madras in India with a MD (MBBS) degree in 1982 and a Diploma in Child Health in 1987. He completed additional post-graduate pediatric training in the UK (1987-1992), Canada (1992-1993), and the US (1993-1995). He is a member of the Royal College of Physicians (MRCP) of UK since 1990; he is board-certified in General Pediatrics by the American Board of Pediatrics since 1994. Additionally, Rajakumar completed a Master of Science (MS) in Clinical Research from the University of Pittsburgh in 2010. 

In the past two decades, Rajakumar has investigated vitamin D nutrition in children with an emphasis on minority health and health disparities. With funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), he has characterized the impact of race, season, and diet on vitamin D status in children. He has conducted clinical trials examining the vascular and metabolic health benefits of vitamin D in obese and overweight children; he has also investigated the racial differences of the impact of vitamin D in the bone health of Black and white children. Rajakumar serves as a reviewer for several peer-reviewed medical journals. Rajakumar is nationally recognized for his expertise in vitamin D. He is currently investigating the relationship between maternal metabolism and its impact on breast milk and infant growth. In addition, he is a clinical investigator in the Pediatric Vaccine Trial Unit and the Clinical Trial Unit of the Division of General Academic Pediatrics and conducts vaccine immunogenicity clinical trials and clinical research studies focused on common childhood infections.

Professional and Scientific Society Memberships

  • American Academy of Pediatrics, Fellow, 1994-Present
  • Academic Pediatric Association, 1996-2014 
  • American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, 2002-2014 
  • American Society for Nutrition, 2007-Present
  • Society for Pediatric Research, 2010-Present
  • Endocrine Society, 2011-2017 

Education & Training

  • MBBS, University of Madras, 1982
  • Rotating House Officer, Madras Medical College, 1984-1985
  • DCH Post Graduate, Madras Medical College, 1987
  • Pediatric Senior House Officer, Victoria Hospital, 1987-1988
  • Senior House Officer, Hope Hospital, 1988
  • Pediatric Senior House Officer, East Birmingham Hospital, 1988-1989
  • Regional Rotating Registrar, Doncaster Royal Infirmary, 1990-1992
  • Fellowship in Neonatology, University of Manitoba, 1992-1993
  • Residency in Pediatrics, West Virginia University, 1993-1994
  • Fellowship in General Academic Pediatrics, West Virginia University, 1994-1995
  • MS, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Institute for Clinical Research Education, 2008-2010

Selected Publications

Rajakumar K, Moore CG, Khalid AT, Vallejo AN, Virji MA, Holick MF, Greenspan SL, Arslanian S, Reis SE. Effect of vitamin D3 supplementation on vascular and metabolic health of vitamin D-deficient overweight and obese children: a randomized clinical trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2020;111(4):757-768. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqz340. 

 

Baden LR, El Sahly HM, Essink B, Kotloff K, Frey S, Novak R, Diemert D, Spector SA, Rouphael N, Creech CB, McGettigan J, Khetan S, Segall N, Solis J, Brosz A, Fierro C, Schwartz H, Neuzil K, Corey L, Gilbert P, Janes H, Follmann D, Marovich M, Mascola J, Polakowski L, Ledgerwood J, Graham BS, Bennett H, Pajon R, Knightly C, Leav B, Deng W, Zhou H, Han S, Ivarsson M, Miller J, Zaks T; COVE Study Group. Efficacy and Safety of the mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine. N Engl J Med. 2021;384:403-416. 

El Sahly HM, Baden LR, Essink B, Doblecki-Lewis S, Martin JM, Anderson EJ, Campbell TB, Clark J, Jackson LA, Fichtenbaum CJ, Zervos M, Rankin B, Eder F, Feldman G, Kennelly C, Han-Conrad L, Levin M, Neuzil KM, Corey L, Gilbert P, Janes H, Follmann D, Marovich M, Polakowski L, Mascola JR, Ledgerwood JE, Graham BS, August A, Clouting H, Deng W, Han S, Leav B, Manzo D, Pajon R, Schödel F, Tomassini JE, Zhou H, Miller J; COVE Study Group. Efficacy of the mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine at Completion of Blinded Phase. N Engl J Med. 2021;385:1774-1785.

Atmar RL, Lyke KE, Deming ME, Jackson LA, Branche AR, El Sahly HM, Rostad CA, Martin JM, Johnston C, Rupp RE, Mulligan MJ, Brady RC, Frenck RW, Bäcker M, Kottkamp AC, Babu TM, Rajakumar K, Edupuganti S, Dobryzynski D, Posavad CM, Archer JI, Crandon S, Nayak SU, Szydlo D, Zemanek J, Islas CPD, Brown ER, Suthar MS, McElrath MJ, McDermott AB, O'Connell SE, Montefiori DC, Eaton A, Neuzil KM, Stephens DS, Roberts PC, Beigel JH; COVE Study Group. Heterologous SARS-CoV-2 Booster Vaccinations – Preliminary Report.  medRxiv. 2021 Oct 15;. doi: 10.1101/2021.10.10.21264827. 

Cashman KD, Kiely ME, Andersen R, Grønborg IM, Tetens I, Tripkovic L, Lanham-New SA, Lamberg-Allardt C, Adebayo FA, Gallagher JC, Smith LM, Sacheck JM, Huang Q, Ng K, Yuan C, Giovannucci EL, Rajakumar K, Patterson CG, Öhlund I, Lind T, Åkeson PK, Ritz C. Individual participant data (IPD)-level meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials to estimate the vitamin D dietary requirements in dark-skinned individuals resident at high latitude. Eur J Nutr. 2022;61:1015-1034.

 Atmar RL, Lyke KE, Deming ME, Jackson LA, Branche AR, El Sahly HM, Rostad CA, Martin JM, Johnston C, Rupp RE, Mulligan MJ, Brady RC, Frenck RW Jr, Bäcker M, Kottkamp AC, Babu TM, Rajakumar K, Edupuganti S, Dobrzynski D, Coler RN, Posavad CM, Archer JI, Crandon S, Nayak SU, Szydlo D, Zemanek JA, Dominguez Islas CP, Brown ER, Suthar MS, McElrath MJ, McDermott AB, O'Connell SE, Montefiori DC, Eaton A, Neuzil KM, Stephens DS, Roberts PC, Beigel JH; DMID 21-0012 Study Group. Homologous and Heterologous Covid-19 Booster Vaccinations. N Engl J Med. 2022;386:1046-1057.

 Lyke KE, Atmar RL, Islas CD, Posavad CM, Szydlo D, Paul Chourdhury R, Deming ME, Eaton A, Jackson LA, Branche AR, El Sahly HM, Rostad CA, Martin JM, Johnston C, Rupp RE, Mulligan MJ, Brady RC, Frenck RW Jr, Bäcker M, Kottkamp AC, Babu TM, Rajakumar K, Edupuganti S, Dobrzynski D, Coler RN, Archer JI, Crandon S, Zemanek JA, Brown ER, Neuzil KM, Stephens DS, Post DJ, Nayak SU, Suthar MS, Roberts PC, Beigel JH, Montefiori DC; DMID 21-0012 Study Group. Rapid decline in vaccine-boosted neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. Cell Rep Med. 2022; Jul 19;3(7):100679. doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100679

Lyke KE, Atmar RL, Dominguez Islas C, Posavad CM, Deming ME, Branche AR, Johnston C, El Sahly HM, Edupuganti S, Mulligan MJ, Jackson LA, Rupp RE, Rostad CA, Coler RN, Bäcker M, Kottkamp AC, Babu TM, Dobrzynski D, Martin JM, Brady RC, Frenck RW Jr, Rajakumar K, Kotloff K, Rouphael N, Szydlo D, PaulChoudhury R, Archer JI, Crandon S, Ingersoll B, Eaton A, Brown ER, McElrath MJ, Neuzil KM, Stephens DS, Post DJ, Lin BC, Serebryannyy L, Beigel JH, Montefiori DC, Roberts PC; DMID 21-0012 Study Group. Immunogenicity of NVX-CoV2373 heterologous boost against SARS-CoV-2 variants. NPJ Vaccines. 2023 Jul 11;8(1):98. doi: 10.1038/s41541-023-00693-z.

 Shaikh N, Hoberman A, Shope TR, Jeong JH, Kurs-Lasky M, Martin JM, Bhatnagar S, Muniz GB, Block SL, Andrasko M, Lee MC, Rajakumar K, Wald ER. Identifying children likely to benefit from antibiotics for acute sinusitis: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2023 Jul 25;330(4):349-358. doi: 10.1001/jama.2023.10854.

Full Publication List via NIH PubMed »

Academic and Research Interests

  • Vitamin D
  • Vascular Health
  • Bone Health
  • COVID Vaccine trials