Lakshmi Nandini Moorthy, MD, MBBS, MS
Division Director, Pediatric Rheumatology and Professor of Pediatrics
Bio Summary
Dr. Moorthy is Chief of the Division of Pediatric Rheumatology and Professor of Pediatrics, with over two decades of clinical and research experience in pediatric rheumatic diseases. She leads a highly regarded clinical program dedicated to the care of children with complex rheumatic diseases, working collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams to deliver comprehensive, patient-centered care. The division specializes in the diagnosis and management of a broad spectrum of rheumatic and musculoskeletal conditions, including juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), vasculitis, mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD), spondyloarthropathies, and scleroderma.
Dr. Moorthy has received multiple grants and awards spanning health disparities, disease awareness, and pandemic-era care of immunosuppressed children. Recent funded work includes a U.S. Office of Minority Health grant to advance lupus awareness and health literacy in underserved populations, an institutional grant examining the biopsychosocial determinants of health in immunosuppressed children during the COVID-19 pandemic, and a New Jersey Health Foundation grant on COVID-19 awareness among patients, parents, and caregivers. She is collaborating with Dr. Hatefi on a translational research project related to SLE. Within her institution, Dr. Moorthy is committed to the educational mission of the department, mentoring residents, medical students, and junior trainees.
Education & Training
UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION: None (went straight to medical school from high school)
MEDICAL SCHOOL:
7/1989-5/1995 Maulana Azad Medical College, Delhi University, New Delhi, India: M.B.B.S. (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery)
POSTGRADUATE TRAINING:
7/1995-6/1996 Research Assistant at Div. of Pediatric Cardiology, Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
7/1996-6/1997 University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC: Pediatric residency - PGY-1
7/1997-6/1998 University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC: Pediatric rotations and electives in preparation for transferring to New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center
7/1998-6/2000 New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, NY: Pediatric residency - PGY - 2,3
7/2000-6/2003 Hospital for Special Surgery-Cornell Medical Center, New York, NY: Pediatric Rheumatology Fellowship
7/2001-6/2003 Cornell University - Graduate School of Medical Sciences, New York, NY: Masters in Clinical Epidemiology and Health Services Research (M.S)
Research Interests
Dr. Moorthy's research interests center on patient-reported outcomes, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and physical function in pediatric rheumatic diseases. She developed and validated the Simple Measure of the Impact of Lupus Erythematosus in Youngsters (SMILEY©) through a multicenter study, providing a widely used instrument for assessing disease impact in affected children and their families. Her contributions to childhood SLE outcomes research are reflected in numerous peer-reviewed publications. Additionally, she has collaborated on studies related to vasculitis, JIA, and rare diseases.
Publications
1. Cabral DA, Bosman ES, McPhate N, Mann SK, Toor KK, Morishita KA, Luqmani R, Beresford MW, Bistolarides J, Campillo S, Charuvanij S, Cook K, Dancey P, de Guzman M, Deepak S, Eberhard B, Elder M, Gagne S, Harrison K, Huber A, Khan A, Kim S, Klein-Gitelman MS, Lee TC, Li SC, Martin N, McErlane F, Moorthy LN, Orjuela AH, Park J, Riley P, Rosenberg AM, Shenoi S, Sivaraman V, Sutnga S, Tanner T, Tarvin SE, Twilt M, Wagner-Weiner L, Yeung RSM, Brown KL; ARChiVe Investigators Network within the PedVas Initiative. Effective performance of the 2022 American College of Rheumatology/European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology classification criteria for Antineutrophil-Cytoplasmic-Antibody-Associated Vasculitis in Pediatric Patients: an ARChiVe Study. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2026 Apr 9. doi: 10.1002/art.70172. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41958151.
2. Gubenko, E., Mullenhard, J. F., Ramachandran, U., Gaur, S., Mikesell, L., & Moorthy, L. N. Use of social media to disseminate information about COVID-19 vaccines for children. NJ Pediatrics NJ Pediatrics, Spring Issue 2026
3. Mikesell, L., Singh, S., Singh, V., Ramachandran, U., Moorthy, N., & Gaur, S. (accepted). Incorporating the Culture-Centered Approach to support engagement of minoritized youth in mental health research. Western Journal of Communication. (In press)
4. Toor KK, Chen A, Cabral DA, Mammen C, Bosman ES, Shen Y, Bone JN, Noone D, Al-Abadi E, Benseler S, Berard R, Bohm M, Charuvanij S, Cook K, Dancey P, Deepak S, Duffy C, Eberhard B, Elder M, Foell D, Gerstbacher D, Heshin-Bekenstein M, Huber A, James KE, Kim S, Klein-Gitelman M, Martin N, McErlane F, Moorthy LN, Myrup C, Riley P, Shenoi S, Sivaraman V, Tanner T, Tarvin S, Wagner-Weiner L, Yeung RSM, Brown KL, Morishita KA; PedVas Investigators Network. Evaluating Renal Disease in Pediatric-Onset Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody-Associated Vasculitis: Disease Course, Outcomes, and Predictors of Outcome. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2024 Dec 3. doi: 10.1002/art.43071. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39624015.
5. Gagne SJ, Sivaraman V, Bosman ES, Klamer B, Morishita KA, Huber A, Orjuela A, Eberhard B, Myrup C, Gerstbacher D, Foell D, Al-Abadi E, McErlane F, Cook K, Wagner-Weiner L, Elder M, Moorthy LN, Dancey P, Yeung R, Khubchandani R, Deepak S, Charuvanij S, Tarvin S, Shenoi S, Tanner T, Brown K, Cabral DA; ARChiVe Investigators Network within the PedVas Initiative. Comparing Rituximab and Cyclophosphamide in Induction Therapy for Childhood-Onset Anti-Neutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody-Associated Vasculitis: An ARChiVe Registry Cohort Study. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2025 Apr;77(4):504-512. doi: 10.1002/acr.25455. Epub 2024 Dec 10. PMID: 39467015; PMCID: PMC11931354.
6. Hayward K, Grom A, Muscal E, Nigrovic PA, Rouster-Stevens KA, Ardalan K, Hiraki L, Moorthy LN; A. C. R./CARRA Mentoring Interest Group. Longitudinal program evaluation of an inter-institutional mentorship network for pediatric rheumatology using a quality improvement framework. Pediatr Rheumatol Online J. 2024 Jul 10;22(1):64. doi: 10.1186/s12969-024-00993-1. PMID: 38982530; PMCID: PMC11234764.
7. Nazzar, S., Moorthy, L., Tousseau, J., Lapidus, S., Mansfield, L., Twilt, M., Schulert, G., Gutierrez, M., Mohan, S., Angevare, S., Durrant, K., & Dedeoglu, F. (2024). Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Patients with Systemic Autoinflammatory Diseases. An international survey. Medical Research Archives, 12(10). doi:10.18103/mra.v12i10.5990 (Vol 12 No 10 (2024): October Issue)
8. Sharma H, Ramachandran U, Gaur S, Mikesell L, Forbes Mullenhard J, Lucuara P, Merced M, Moorthy LN, Community-Wide Efforts to Improve COVID-19 Vaccination in Children in the State of New Jersey, NJ Pediatrics Winter issue 2023-24; Pages 17-20
9. Mansfield LM, Lapidus SK, Romero SN, Moorthy LN, Adler-Shohet FC, Hollander M, Cherian J, Twilt M, Lionetti G, Mohan S, DeLaMora PA, Durrant KL, Muskardin TW, Correia Marques M, Onel KB, Dedeoglu F, Gutierrez MJ, Schulert G; CARRA Autoinflammatory Network Consortium for the CARRA PFAPA/Autoinflammatory Working Group. Increase in pediatric recurrent fever evaluations during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in North America. Front Pediatr. 2023 Aug 3;11:1240242. doi: 10.3389/fped.2023.1240242. Erratum in: Front Pediatr. 2023 Nov 06;11:1323946. PMID: 37601132; PMCID: PMC10435740.
10. Altchek A, Moorthy LN, Ramagopal M, Salvant C, Uppaluri L. A 5 year follow-up of pulmonary function tests in childhood onset Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: a single center retrospective study. Lupus. https://doi.org/10.1177/09612033231163831
11. Sharma P, Ramachandran U, Kleinman L, Gaur S, Mikesell L, Mullenhard J, Moorthy LN, Community-Wide Efforts to Improve COVID-19 Vaccination in Children in the State of New Jersey, NJ Pediatrics Winterissue 2022; Pages 15-21
12. Nelson MC, Gibson S, Villacis-Nunez DS, Kimi Chan LH, Ponder L, Prahalad S, Moorthy LN. Quality of life measures and physical activity in childhood systemic lupus erythematosus. Lupus. 2022 Aug;31(9):1114-1120. doi: 10.1177/09612033221106154. Epub 2022 Jun 6. PMID: 35666544.
13. Guglielmo-Roxby T, Louissaint V, Ettinger A, Llanos A, Cahill E, Chefitz D, Boneparth A, Amato I, Moorthy LN. Assessment of Resident Knowledge in Pediatric Rheumatology. Glob Pediatr Health. 2021 Dec 17;8:2333794X211062020. doi: 10.1177/2333794X211062020. PMID: 34993280; PMCID: PMC8725020.
14. Carolyn Ochoa, Ellen Cahill, Dalya Chefitz, Daphne Esho, Jason Lewis, L N. Moorthy. Infections in children with juvenile onset systemic lupus erythematosus, a retrospective study. In Press. Accepted Summer Issue New Jersey Pediatrics 2021
15. Aldina M Hovde , Cheryl As McFarland , G Melissa Garcia, Fran Gallagher , Harry Gewanter , Marisa Klein-Gitelman, L Nandini Moorthy . Multi-pronged approach to enhance education of children and adolescents with lupus, caregivers, and healthcare providers in New Jersey: Needs assessment, evaluation, and development of educational materials. Lupus, 2021 Jan;30(1):86-95. doi: 10.1177/0961203320969975. Epub 2020 Nov 19. PMID: 33210558
Honors & Awards
2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2026 Castle Connolly’s Exceptional Women in Medicine Award
2025 Selected to be 2025 Castle Connolly top doctor
2024 NJ Choice Top doctors
2021 Nominated as a member of the Society for Pediatric Research (2021- present)
2020 AOA Medical Honor Society
2018-19 Named in the ‘Top box professionalism score for faculty’
2018 Special Achievement Award for work on SLE (American Academy of Pediatrics)
2016 Directors of Health Promotion and Education grant on SLE awareness (Jan 2016-June 2016)
2016 Certificate of appreciation in recognizing dedication/support to the lupus community from the Lupus Foundation of America NJ chapter
2015 American College of Rheumatology REF/Amgen Pediatric Rheumatology visiting professorship award (Washington DC, rec’d-Jan 2015- visited Aug 2015)
2013 American College of Rheumatology REF/Amgen Pediatric Rheumatology visiting professorship award (Staten Island University Hospital, 2014 May)
2012 American College of Rheumatology REF/Amgen Pediatric Rheumatology visiting professorship award (Blank Memorial Hospital, Des Moines, Iowa March 2013)
2010 Lawrence T. Taft Award for excellence in clinical teaching for the residents at RWJMS-UMDNJ
2010 American College of Rheumatology Preceptor Award (Student Research)
2009 American College of Rheumatology REF/Amgen Pediatric Rheumatology visiting professorship award (Jersey Shore Medical Center, Dec 15-17, 2009)
2009 Research Day award at UMDNJ-RWJMS, New Brunswick, NJ for excellence in research
2009 Certificate of appreciation for teaching residents at UMDNJ-RWJMS, New Brunswick, NJ
2008 Recognized at the Arthritis Foundation Gala in Nov 22 for my research award (received the Arthritis Foundation Investigator Award)
2007 Bursary Award for the abstract submitted to the Pediatric Rheumatology European Society meeting
2006 Awarded $5,000 from CME RWJMS-UMDNJ for conducting the Pediatric Rheumatology for the Practitioner conference
2003 Arthritis Foundation Fellowship Award (Declined)
1997 Certificate and award: poster presentation, Univ. of NC, resident research forum
1989-1993 Class rank: 3/200, University rank: 5/600 (Medical school)
1993 Col. Berket Narain Gold Medal: best overall performance in Community Medicine in the final annual M.B.B.S. clinical and theory exams (1/200)
Sanjay Sidhwa Memorial Gold Medal and Dr K.K. Modawal Memorial Gold Medal: best overall perfor mance in Medicine (includes: Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Psychiatry, Dermatology) in the final annual M.B.B.S. clinical and theory exams (1/200)
Delhi Administration Prizes: best overall performance in Ophthalmology (1/200) and second-best overall performance in OB-GYN (2/200) in the final annual M.B.B.S. clinical and theory exams
1992 Distinctions: exceptional performance in Pharmacology and Microbiology out of a class of 200; Maulana Azad Trophy: best performance in Forensic Science in the second annual M.B.B.S. exam (1/200)
1990 Distinctions: exceptional performance in Anatomy, Physiology, and Biochemistry in the first annual M.B.B.S. exam out of a class of 200; Maulana Azad Silver Medals: second best performance in Anatomy (2/200) and Biochemistry (2/200) in the first annual M.B.B.S. exam
1989-1994 National Biotechnology Scholarship and National Gold medal for being among the top 10 students in Biology in the country
1991-1993 Central Board of Secondary Education Merit Scholarship
1986-1989 Science Talent Scholarship
OTHER HONORS
1. Top doctors (Castle Connoly) 2019, New Brunswick; Top doctor for 5 yrs, Top doctors NY Metro area; Top doctors (2023)
2. America's Most Honored Doctors 2026 - Top 1%
3. NJ Monthly magazine’s 2026, 2025-Top Doctor list.
4. Listed in Consumer’s Research Council of America – Americas Top Pediatricians for 2008
5. Listed in Top Doctors list in 2013 New Jersey
6. Named as NJ Favorite Kids Docs Dec 2014
7. Inside Jersey 2015, Supplement to star ledger Magazine, Top doctor in NJ