Lavjay Butani

Lavjay Butani, M.D., is Professor of Pediatrics in the School of Medicine at the University of California, Davis, serving as Vice Chair for Academic Affairs, Department of Pediatrics, and Chief, Division of Pediatric Nephrology. He earned his M.D. from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India, in 1992. He completed his internship and residency in Pediatrics at Mayo Graduate School of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota, from 1992 to 1995, and his fellowship in Pediatric Nephrology at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1995 to 1999. He also holds a Masters in Academic Medicine from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, obtained in 2013.

Dr. Butani specializes in pediatric nephrology, treating conditions including high blood pressure, kidney stones, prenatally diagnosed renal anomalies, kidney infections, acute and chronic kidney diseases, and pediatric kidney transplants. His research centers on strategies to improve renal transplantation outcomes in children through optimal immunosuppressive regimens and analyses of national transplant databases; he leads the Pediatric Nephrology Research Team at UC Davis Health. Additional interests include medical education scholarship on reflective practice, humanism, professional identity formation, and undergraduate medical education. Key publications include "Post-transplant diarrhea in pediatric kidney transplant recipients" (Pediatric Nephrology, 2025), "Tidal continuous cycling peritoneal dialysis in children" (Pediatric Nephrology, 2023), "Outcomes of Kidney Transplants From Toxoplasma-Positive Donors: An Organ Procurement and Transplant Network Database Analysis" (Transplant International, 2024), "Hypogammaglobulinemia in pediatric kidney transplant recipients" (Pediatric Nephrology, 2023), "Nephrocalcinosis in Neonates" (Neoreviews, 2024), and book chapters "Immunosuppressive Medications in Kidney Transplantation" and "Rapidly Progressive Glomerulonephritis" (Adolescents with Chronic Kidney Disease: From Diagnosis to End-Stage Disease, Springer, 2018). Awards include the 2016 UC Davis Distinguished Teaching Award for Graduate and Professional Teaching, 2019 Deans' Award for Excellence in Mentoring in Education/Teaching, 2019 Mentoring Innovation Award from UC Davis Office of Faculty Development and Diversity, Golden Cup Award from the Residency Program (2000-2019), and Best Doctors in Sacramento (2012, 2016-2018, 2020). He promotes shared decision-making, empowering children and families as central to the care team.

Professional Email: lavjay.butani@ucdavis.edu