Satyan Lakshminrusimha, M.D., M.B.B.S., F.A.A.P.
Executive Associate Dean
Satyan Lakshminrusimha, M.D., M.B.B.S., F.A.A.P., is the Executive Associate Dean of the UC Davis School of Medicine. He is also the Chair of the Department of Pediatrics, Pediatrician-in-Chief at the UC Davis Children’s Hospital. He is also the Dennis and Nancy Marks Endowed Chair in Pediatrics and a professor in the Department of Pediatrics.
As the Executive Associate Dean, Lakshminrusimha supports the execution of academic, clinical and research goals while ensuring operational efficiency. He coordinates across departments, faculty and constituents to optimize educational programs, clinical operations, faculty development, and research initiatives.
As co-chair of the UC Davis Health clinical funds flow committee and a member of the health system’s finance committee, Lakshminrusimha has implemented strategies to optimize resource allocation, enhance clinical productivity and support faculty development. He has served as the UC Davis Medical Group finance committee chair since July 1, 2025.
Lakshminrusimha’s research focuses on understanding the pathophysiology of neonatal transition and evaluating the science behind neonatal resuscitation to develop new techniques to improve resuscitation in resource-limited settings.
His clinical interests include early detection of critical congenital heart disease and neonatal respiratory diseases. He is the principal investigator of a multicenter trial evaluating milrinone in patients with congenital diaphragmatic hernias (CDH). This trial is funded through the Neonatal Research Network and is the largest clinical trial on postnatal pulmonary vasodilator therapy in patients with CDH.
Lakshminrusimha has published more than 300 works and is an Associate Editor of the Neonatology Journal and the Journal of Perinatology. In 2023, he received the American Academy of Pediatrics Education Award for his work on the Council on Communications and Media, the Committee on Pediatric Education and the Committee on Continuing Medical Education. The Western Society of Pediatric Research awarded him the Joseph W. St. Geme Jr. Mentor of the Year Award in 2025.
Lakshminrusimha received a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery degree and a medical degree from Government Medical College in Mysore, India. He completed a residency in pediatrics at the Brooklyn Hospital Center and a fellowship in neonatal-perinatal medicine at the State University of New York at Buffalo. He served as the Vice Chair of Pediatrics at the State University of New York at Buffalo before joining UC Davis in 2017.