Sandhya Kharbanda, MD

Dr. Sandhya Kharbanda is a specialist in pediatric blood disorders and stem cell transplantation, and the medical director of the pediatric blood and marrow transplant program at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital San Francisco.

Having a special interest in stem cell transplantation for children with inherited metabolic disorders, Kharbanda aims to provide state-of-the-art care while improving both short- and long-term outcomes for these patients. She works with a multidisciplinary team to care for children who need a stem cell transplant due to leukodystrophies (genetic disorders affecting white tissues of the central nervous system), mucopolysaccharidoses, and other lysosomal storage disorders (genetic diseases in which a protein deficiency leads to toxic chemicals accumulating in cells). She is also interested in in inherited disorders of red blood cells, including thalassemia and sickle cell disease, and leads UCSF studies that evaluate new therapies for these conditions.
Education
12/2003 - Bone Marrow Transplantation, University of Minnesota
06/2002 - Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
05/1999 - Pediatrics, SUNY Downstate
MBBS, 04/1993 - Medicine, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College

  1. Leong M, Sathi B, Davis A, Hamid S, Wu S, Woods J, Kharbanda S, Li X, Hou J. Alpha-mannosidosis: a case with novel ultrastructural and light microscopy findings. Journal of pediatric endocrinology & metabolism : JPEM 2023. PMID: 37979187


  2. Emperumal CP, Weller B, Okane S, Joseph R, Kharbanda S, Ling Z, Villa A. Oral complications in a paediatric graft versus host disease (GVHD) clinic: a retrospective study. Oral diseases 2023. PMID: 36789456


  3. Brooks JT, Solans BP, Lu Y, Kharbanda S, Dvorak CC, Lalefar N, Long S, Gupta AO, Horn B, Lamba JK, Huang L, Apsel-Winger B, Keizer RJ, Savic R, Long-Boyle J. Prospective Validation and Refinement of a Population Pharmacokinetic Model of Fludarabine in Children and Young Adults Undergoing Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation. Pharmaceutics 2022. PMID: 36432661


  4. Zinter MS, Versluys AB, Lindemans CA, Mayday MY, Reyes G, Sunshine S, Chan M, Fiorino EK, Cancio M, Prevaes S, Sirota M, Matthay MA, Kharbanda S, Dvorak CC, Boelens JJ, DeRisi JL. Pulmonary microbiome and gene expression signatures differentiate lung function in pediatric hematopoietic cell transplant candidates. 2022. PMID: 35263147


  5. Higham CS, Shimano KA, Melton A, Kharbanda S, Chu J, Dara J, Winestone LE, Hermiston ML, Huang JN, Dvorak CC. A pilot trial of prophylactic defibrotide to prevent serious thrombotic microangiopathy in high-risk pediatric patients. 2022. PMID: 35253361


  6. Subburaj D, Ng B, Kariminia A, Abdossamadi S, Lauener M, Nemecek ER, Rozmus J, Kharbanda S, Kitko CL, Lewis VA, Schechter T, Jacobsohn DA, Harris AC, Pulsipher MA, Bittencourt H, Choi SW, Caywood EH, Kasow K, Bhatia M, Oshrine BR, Coulter D, Chewning JH, Joyce M, Pawlowska AB, Megason GC, Lawitschka A, Ostroumov E, Klein Geltink RI, Cuvelier GDE, Schultz KR. Metabolomic Identification of Alpha-Ketoglutaric Acid Elevation in Pediatric Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease. Blood 2021. PMID: 34534280


  7. MacKenzie TC, Amid A, Angastiniotis M, Butler C, Gilbert S, Gonzalez J, Keller RL, Kharbanda S, Kirby-Allen MA, Koenig BA, Kyono W, Lal A, Lianoglou BR, Norton ME, Ogasawara KK, Panchalee T, Rosner M, Schwab ME, Thompson AA, Waye JS, Vichinsky E. Consensus statement for the perinatal management of patients with alpha thalassemia major. 2021. PMID: 34749399


  8. Horvei P, MacKenzie T, Kharbanda S. Advances in the management of α-thalassemia major: reasons to be optimistic. 2021. PMID: 34889445


  9. Brooks JT, Keizer RJ, Long-Boyle JR, Kharbanda S, Dvorak CC, Friend BD. Population Pharmacokinetic Model Development of Tacrolimus in Pediatric and Young Adult Patients Undergoing Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation. 2021. PMID: 34950026


  10. Forlanini F, Zinter MS, Dvorak CC, Bailey-Olson M, Winestone LE, Shimano KA, Higham CS, Melton A, Chu J, Kharbanda S. Hematopoietic Cell Transplant-Comorbidity Index Score is Correlated with Treatment Related Mortality and Overall Survival following Second Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplant in Children. 2021. PMID: 34848362


  11. Kharbanda S, Dvorak CC. The Beginning of the End of Allogeneic Transplantation for Hurler Syndrome? 2021. PMID: 34788512


  12. Higham CS, Collins G, Shimano KA, Melton A, Kharbanda S, Winestone LE, Huang JN, Dara J, Long-Boyle JR, Dvorak CC. Transplant-associated thrombotic microangiopathy in pediatric patients: pre-HSCT risk stratification and prophylaxis. Blood advances 2021. PMID: 33877298


  13. Zinter MS, Lindemans CA, Versluys BA, Mayday MY, Sunshine S, Reyes G, Sirota M, Sapru A, Matthay MA, Kharbanda S, Dvorak CC, Boelens JJ, DeRisi JL. The pulmonary metatranscriptome prior to pediatric HCT identifies post-HCT lung injury. Blood 2021. PMID: 33512420


  14. Apsel Winger B, Shukla P, Kharbanda S, Keizer RJ, Goswami S, Cowan MJ, Dvorak CC, Long-Boyle J. The Relationship Between Busulfan Exposure and Achievement of Sustained Donor Myeloid Chimerism in Patients with Non-Malignant Disorders. Transplantation and cellular therapy 2020. PMID: 33781528


  15. Shukla P, Dvorak CC, Long-Boyle J, Kharbanda S. Lower Exposure to Busulfan Allows for Stable Engraftment of Donor Hematopoietic Stem Cells in Children with Mucopolysaccharidosis Type I: A Case Report of Four Patients. International journal of molecular sciences 2020. PMID: 32781600


  16. Shukla P, Goswami S, Keizer RJ, Winger BA, Kharbanda S, Dvorak CC, Long-Boyle J. Assessment of a Model-Informed Precision Dosing Platform Use in Routine Clinical Care for Personalized Busulfan Therapy in the Pediatric Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation (HCT) Population. Frontiers in pharmacology 2020. PMID: 32714184


  17. Contreras CF, Long-Boyle JR, Shimano KA, Melton A, Kharbanda S, Dara J, Higham C, Huang JN, Cowan MJ, Dvorak CC. Reduced Toxicity Conditioning for Nonmalignant Hematopoietic Cell Transplants. Biology of blood and marrow transplantation : journal of the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation 2020. PMID: 32534101


  18. Friend BD, Bailey-Olson M, Melton A, Shimano KA, Kharbanda S, Higham C, Winestone LE, Huang J, Stieglitz E, Dvorak CC. The impact of total body irradiation-based regimens on outcomes in children and young adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Pediatric blood & cancer 2019. PMID: 31724815


  19. Kharbanda S, Dvorak CC. In ALD, I feel the need for speed. Blood 2019. PMID: 30898777


  20. Winestone LE, Punn R, Tamaresis JS, Buckingham J, Pinsky BA, Waggoner JJ, Kharbanda S. High human herpesvirus 6 viral load in pediatric allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients is associated with detection in end organs and high mortality. Pediatric transplantation 2017. PMID: 29181879


  21. Kowarsky M, Camunas-Soler J, Kertesz M, De Vlaminck I, Koh W, Pan W, Martin L, Neff NF, Okamoto J, Wong RJ, Kharbanda S, El-Sayed Y, Blumenfeld Y, Stevenson DK, Shaw GM, Wolfe ND, Quake SR. Numerous uncharacterized and highly divergent microbes which colonize humans are revealed by circulating cell-free DNA. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2017. PMID: 28830999


  22. Sharon E, Shi H, Kharbanda S, Koh W, Martin LR, Khush KK, Valantine H, Pritchard JK, De Vlaminck I. Quantification of transplant-derived circulating cell-free DNA in absence of a donor genotype. PLoS computational biology 2017. PMID: 28771616


  23. Theruvath AJ, Sukerkar PA, Bao S, Rosenberg J, Luna-Fineman S, Kharbanda S, Daldrup-Link HE. Bone marrow oedema predicts bone collapse in paediatric and adolescent leukaemia patients with corticosteroid-induced osteonecrosis. European radiology 2017. PMID: 28726121


  24. Chaudhury S, Ayas M, Rosen C, Ma M, Viqaruddin M, Parikh S, Kharbanda S, Chiang KY, Haight A, Bhatia M, Guilcher G, Thompson A, Shenoy S. A Multicenter Retrospective Analysis Stressing the Importance of Long-Term Follow-Up after Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation for ß-Thalassemia. Biology of blood and marrow transplantation : journal of the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation 2017. PMID: 28627425


  25. Cox K, Punn R, Weiskopf E, Pinsky BA, Kharbanda S. Pericardial Effusion Following Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation in Children and Young Adults Is Associated with Increased Risk of Mortality. Biology of blood and marrow transplantation : journal of the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation 2017. PMID: 28390986


  26. Wadhwani SI, Nakayuenyongsuk W, Shinn L, Chase P, Kharbanda S, Bass D, Park KT. Predictive Value of Fecal Calprotectin in Pediatric Graft-Versus-Host Disease. Journal of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition 2016. PMID: 27504814


  27. Aftandilian C, Weinberg K, Willert J, Kharbanda S, Porteus M, Maldonado Y, Agarwal R. Invasive Fungal Disease in Pediatric Patients Undergoing Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant. Journal of pediatric hematology/oncology 2016. PMID: 27658021


  28. Mitton B, Coutre S, Willert J, Schlis K, Porteus M, Kharbanda S, Agarwal-Hashmi R. A pediatric case of T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia. Pediatric blood & cancer 2014. PMID: 25417638


  29. Mahadeo KM, Weinberg KI, Abdel-Azim H, Miklos DB, Killen R, Kohn D, Crooks GM, Shah AJ, Kharbanda S, Agarwal R, Kapoor N. A reduced-toxicity regimen is associated with durable engraftment and clinical cure of nonmalignant genetic diseases among children undergoing blood and marrow transplantation with an HLA-matched related donor. Biology of blood and marrow transplantation : journal of the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation 2014. PMID: 25459642


  30. Garfin PM, Link MP, Donaldson SS, Advani RH, Luna-Fineman S, Kharbanda S, Porteus M, Weinberg KI, Agarwal-Hashmi R. Improved outcomes after autologous bone marrow transplantation for children with relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma: twenty years experience at a single institution. Biology of blood and marrow transplantation : journal of the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation 2014. PMID: 25445024


  31. Kharbanda S, Smith AR, Hutchinson SK, McKenna DH, Ball JB, Lamb LS, Agarwal R, Weinberg KI, Wagner JE. Unrelated donor allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for patients with hemoglobinopathies using a reduced-intensity conditioning regimen and third-party mesenchymal stromal cells. Biology of blood and marrow transplantation : journal of the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation 2013. PMID: 24370862


  32. Filiano AN, Fathallah-Shaykh HM, Fiveash J, Gage J, Cantor A, Kharbanda S, Johnson MR. Gene expression analysis in radiotherapy patients and C57BL/6 mice as a measure of exposure to ionizing radiation. Radiation research 2011. PMID: 21361780


  33. Krishnamurti L, Kharbanda S, Biernacki MA, Zhang W, Baker KS, Wagner JE, Wu CJ. Stable long-term donor engraftment following reduced-intensity hematopoietic cell transplantation for sickle cell disease. Biology of blood and marrow transplantation : journal of the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation 2008. PMID: 18940682


  34. Kharbanda S, Panoskaltsis-Mortari A, Haddad IY, Blazar BR, Orchard PJ, Cornfield DN, Grewal SS, Peters C, Regelmann WE, Milla CE, Baker KS. Inflammatory cytokines and the development of pulmonary complications after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation in patients with inherited metabolic storage disorders. Biology of blood and marrow transplantation : journal of the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation 2006. PMID: 16545727


  35. Yang KD, Mizobuchi T, Kharbanda SM, Datta R, Huberman E, Kufe DW, Stone RM. All-trans retinoic acid reverses phorbol ester resistance in a human myeloid leukemia cell line. Blood 1994. PMID: 8286746


  36. Chauhan D, Kharbanda SM, Rubin E, Barut BA, Mohrbacher A, Kufe DW, Anderson KC. Regulation of c-jun gene expression in human T lymphocytes. Blood 1993. PMID: 8453101


  37. Kharbanda SM, Sherman ML, Kufe DW. Effects of tiazofurin on guanine nucleotide binding regulatory proteins in HL-60 cells. Blood 1990. PMID: 1967538