Rujuta Bhatt, MD
Dr. Rujuta Bhatt specializes in general pediatric neurology, autism, and related neurodevelopmental disorders. She is a Clinical Instructor in Pediatrics and Pediatric Neurology at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital and also a Behavioral Child Neurology Fellow working with Dr. Shafali Jeste within the UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment (CART) and the Jeste Lab.
After completing a combined BA/MD program at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dr. Bhatt completed residency in pediatrics and child neurology at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital. Her interest and research in neurodevelopmental disabilities and neurogenetics began in medical school. Dr. Bhatt was awarded a grant from The Child Neurology Foundation and the recipient of the W.T. Gill Summer Research Fellowship to study brain malformations and cognitive profiles of patients with Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1). Dr. Bhatt also gained clinical expertise with this population by working in the NF1 Multidisciplinary Clinic at Children’s National Medical Center.
Throughout her training, Dr. Bhatt has remained engaged in gaining a better understanding of cognition and development in patients with neurologic disorders. While working at UCLA Medical Center, Dr. Bhatt worked with Dr. Raman Sankar to gain expertise in identifying and studying new treatments for Epileptic Encephalopathies with a goal to improve long term neurodevelopmental outcomes. Dr. Bhatt’s current research interests are focused on better evaluating and understanding motor function and how it is related to language development in children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. This includes assessing children at young ages and identifying early interventions that will ensure better long term outcomes in development and cognition. Dr. Bhatt’s clinical interests are in neurodevelopmental disorders and neurogenetics. Dr. Bhatt will be seeing patients in the pediatric neurology and developmental neurogenetics clinic with a focus on autism, neurodevelopmental disorders, ADHD, and Tics.
In addition to her clinical and research interests, Dr. Bhatt is an active member of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) and the Child Neurology Society (CNS). Dr. Bhatt was selected as a participant for the Women’s Leadership Conference at the 2014 AAN annual meeting and also a recipient of the AAN Meeting Resident Scholarship Award. Dr. Bhatt was also identified as one of the rising leaders in Neurology and was one of ten selected members for the AAN Enhanced Resident Leadership Program. Dr. Bhatt also has a passion for medical education and works with the UCLA Medical Education Department, the CNS, and AAN to improve medical education at UCLA and nationally.