Sindhu Mohandas, MD

Co-Director, Immunocompromised Infectious Diseases Program

Attending Physician; Division of Infectious diseases

Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine of USC

Sindhu Mohandas, MBBS, MD, MRCPC is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, and Infectious Disease Specialist at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA). She serves as the Co-Director of the Immunocompromised Infectious Diseases Program at CHLA.

After attending medical school and pediatric residency in India, Dr. Mohandas spent the next 7 years of her training in England and was awarded membership of the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health. She finished pediatric residency at Brookdale University hospital in New York and completed her Infectious Diseases fellowship at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Dr. Mohandas’s research focuses on understanding the long-term effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection. She seeks to better understand the role of host genomics and other risk factors in patients who develop complications after exposure to SARS-CoV-2 such as Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) or Post-acute sequelae of COVID (PASC). Her other research interest includes understanding the relationship of the gut microbiome to risk and response to disease in immunocompromised patients particularly with regards to C. difficile infections.

Clinical Interests

COVID-19, Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C)

Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC)

Infections in immunocompromised host

C. difficile infections

Education

Medical School

Sri Siddhartha Medical College (SSMC), Bangalore University, India

Internship

Hurley Children's Hospital

Residency

Brookdale University Hospital, New York

Fellowship

Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York

Accomplishments

Certifications

Pediatrics, American Board of Pediatrics; Infectious Diseases, American Board of Pediatrics; Membership of the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health

Professional Memberships

American Academy of Pediatrics; Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society: American Society of Transplantation

Awards

National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Institutes of Health Federal Award, Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) Initiative, Co-Principal Investigator 2021- 2025

Pediatric residency Faculty Teaching Award, 2020

Best Senior Resident Award, 2013

Pfizer Gold Medal and Award for outstanding performance in Medical School, 2000

Academic Distinction in Internal medicine, Surgery & Pediatrics, 2000

Publications

MMR Vaccine-Associated Disseminated Measles in an Immunocompromised Adolescent N Engl J Med. 2021 Sep 23; 385(13):1246-1248. . View in PubMed

VP Shunt With Recurrent Malfunction in Two Pediatric Patients: Is the Hydrocephalus Truly Idiopathic? Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2021 Jul 13.. View in PubMed

Lung mass and neurogenic hyperventilation as a presentation of disseminated tuberculosis Pediatr Pulmonol. 2021 Jul; 56(7):2379-2380. . View in PubMed

Endotoxin acts synergistically with Cdifficile toxin B to increase IL-1 ß production: A potential role for the intestinal biome in modifying the severity of C. difficile colitis. J Infect Dis. 2021 Mar 29. . View in PubMed

Differences in Gut Microbiome in Hospitalized Immunocompetent vsImmunocompromised Children, Including Those With Sickle Cell Disease. Front Pediatr. 2020; 8:583446. . View in PubMed

Beyond the Bacterial Microbiome: Virome of Human Milk and Effects on the Developing Infant Nestle Nutr Inst Workshop Ser. 2020; 94:86-93. . View in PubMed

Intracranial Mycotic Aneurysm Complicating Streptococcus pneumoniae InfectionJ Pediatr. 2019 Aug; 211:223-223. e1. . View in PubMed

Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Infections in Children Pediatr Rev. 2019 Apr; 40(4):179-190. . View in PubMed

Noninfectious Enterocolitis as Initial Presentation of Chronic Granulomatous Disease Clin Pediatr (Phila). 2017 12; 56(14):1353-1356. . View in PubMed

Spontaneous Umbilical Cord HematomaJ Pediatr. 2017 05; 184:233-233. e1. . View in PubMed

Microbiota control immune regulation in humanized mice JCI Insight. 2017 11 02; 2(21). . View in PubMed