Lakshmanan Krishnamurti, MD

Lakshmanan Krishnamurti, MD, is chief of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology and specializes in bone marrow transplant and treating sickle cell disease and other inherited red blood cell disorders.

Dr. Krishnamurti says he decided in second grade that he would become a physician.

“I read something about doctors helping people and I just knew that was what I was going to do. Nobody ever dissuaded me,” he says.

Pediatrics, he adds, was an obvious fit because of the joy he finds working with children.

“Children have such an original view of the world. They aren’t weighed down by burdens, and they see life as an unending horizon in front of them. They are confident in their perspective and they are unfiltered,” he says. “You can look at a child and know if they are doing well or not.”

Still, it takes a special set of communication skills to draw them out, Dr. Krishnamurti says. “Children often have concrete anxieties and fears. They aren’t worried about global warming, but if something is going to hurt and if you are someone they can trust,” he says. “They might not have the eloquence to say that, but you can read their body language.”

To connect with children and their families, Dr. Krishnamurti says he makes a point to sit down when he enters the exam room. Naturally, much of his job also entails working with family members, too.

“You have to be at ease for people to be at ease with you. And you have to radiate that they have your time and attention,” he says. “And then I talk to the child right away, on their level. The most important aspect of these encounters is reassurance. It can be a minor thing, but you can’t reassure people enough.”

Dr. Krishnamurti says he was drawn to hematology because it combines pathology, procedures, and the cognitive aspects of medicine. “I am fascinated by red cell disorders and genetic disorders,” he says. “And I love working with underserved populations, which is how I got interested in sickle cell disease. I became acutely aware of the burden of this disease and the stigma of all genetic diseases, as well as the hopelessness and despair people can feel around them.

His research focuses on curative therapies, including gene therapy and how people make medical decisions, including what motivates them to take (or not take) medications, particularly with transplant patients.