Rusha Bhandari, M.D., M.S.
- Pediatric Hematology — Oncology
- Cancer Survivorship
- Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics
- Assistant Professor, Department of Population Sciences
- Medical Director, Childhood and AYA Cancer Survivorship Clinic
Rusha Bhandari, M.D., M.S., is a board-certified pediatric hematologist-oncologist at City of Hope® Cancer Center Duarte. She specializes in childhood cancer survivorship, which enables her to continue providing care and personalized late effects screening for patients long after they complete their cancer treatment.
Dr. Bhandari earned her medical degree at Saint Louis University. She completed her training in pediatrics at St. Louis Children’s Hospital/Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and her fellowship in pediatric hematology and oncology at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. During that time, she earned a Master of Science in Clinical, Biomedical, and Translational Investigations from the University of Southern California. She is widely published on topics related to childhood cancer, and has won a range of awards for her work, including the Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research Career Development Award and the American Society of Hematology’s Junior Faculty Scholar Award.
Dr. Bhandari’s research focuses on identifying methods to mitigate toxicities from cancer treatment, with the goal of improving long-term patient outcomes. She is thrilled to be a part of City of Hope's team, which she praises for its compassionate, personalized care and leading-edge research.
Dr. Bhandari is the medical director of the Childhood, Adolescent and Young Adult Survivorship program at City of Hope in the Los Angeles area, providing specialized care to survivors of pediatric and young adult cancer throughout their lives. She is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Society of Hematology, the American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, the International Society of Paediatric Oncology and the Children’s Oncology Group.
In her free time, Dr. Bhandari enjoys baking, traveling, yoga, board games, and spending time with her family.
Location
Duarte Cancer Center
Duarte, CA 91010
Education & Experience
Board Certifications
- 2021, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
- 2017, American Board of Pediatrics, General Pediatrics
Degrees
- 2018–2020, Master of Science, Clinical, Biomedical & Translational Investigations, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
- 2010–2014, Doctor of Medicine, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
- 2006–2010, Bachelor of Science, Psychobiology, Minor in Global Studies, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
Fellowship
- 2017–2020, Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
Residency
- 2014–2017, Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
Professional Experience
- 2022–present, Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, City of Hope, Duarte, California
- 2022–present, Assistant Professor, Department of Population Sciences, City of Hope, Duarte, California
- 2020–2022, Pediatric Instructor, Department of Pediatrics, City of Hope, Duarte, California
Awards & Memberships
Awards
- 2025, Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research Career Development Award
- 2025, Junior Faculty Scholar Award, American Society of Hematology
- 2023, Trainee, American Society of Hematology Clinical Research Training Institute
- 2022–present, K12 Scholar, Paul Calabresi Clinical Oncology Career Development Grant
- 2022, Childhood Cancer Survivor Study Junior Faculty Career Development Award
- 2021, Fellow, Transdisciplinary Research on Energetics and Cancer Workshop
- 2019, The Saban Research Institute Training and Travel Award
- 2018, University of Southern California Provost Postdoctoral Scholar
- 2013, ACP Missouri Chapter Meeting, 3rd place winner in medical student clinical vignette poster presentation, Osage Beach, Missouri
- 2007–2010, Dean’s Honors List, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
Memberships
- American Society of Clinical Oncology
- American Society of Hematology
- American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy
- Children’s Oncology Group
Publications
- Bhandari R, Chen Y, Chow EJ, Howell RM, Kenney LB, Krull KR, Leisenring W, Nathan PC, Neglia JP, Ness KK, Oeffinger KC, Snyder C, Turcotte LM, Wong FL, Yasui Y, Armstrong GT, Armenian SH. Health outcomes beyond age 50 in survivors of childhood cancer: A report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS). J Clin Oncol. Accepted 2025 June 18. In press.
- Bhandari R, Lee K, Du X, Albanese S, Echevarria M, Estrada C, Flores A, Iukuridze A, Iukuridze D, Kim J, Lindenfeld L, Rodarte S, Salce N, Wong FL, Armenian SH. Muscle measures from computed tomography, bioelectrical impedance, and ultrasound in hematopoietic cell transplantation patients. Nutr Clin Pract. 2025 Apr 26. PMID: 40287814
- Bhandari R, Lukas K, Lee K, Shamunee J, Almeida B, Guzman T, Echevarria M, Lindenfeld L, Nenninger C, Iukuridze A, Albanese S, Rhee J, Chen S, Brenner C, Wong FL, Armenian SH. Feasibility of telehealth exercise and nicotinamide riboside supplementation in survivors of childhood cancer at risk for diabetes: a pilot randomized controlled trial. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2025 Jan;72(1):e31369. PMID: 39387327
- Wu S, Rhee J, Iukuridze A, Bosworth A, Chen S, Atencio L, Manubolu V, Bhandari R, Jamal F, Mei M, Herrera A, Rodriguez F, Forman S, Nakamura R, Wong FL, Budoff M, Armenian SH. Coronary artery calcium and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with lymphoma undergoing autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation. Cancer. 2024 Jun 15;130(12):2205-2214. PMID: 38358333.
- Bhandari R, Teh JB, He T, Nakamura R, Artz AS, Jankowska MM, Forman SJ, Wong FL, Armenian SH. Social vulnerability is a clinically important risk factor for worse outcomes after allogeneic transplantation. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2022 Nov 14;114(11):1484-1491. PMID: 35980163.
- Song MK, Armenian SH, Bhandari R, Lee K, Ness K, Putt M, Lindenfeld L, Manoukian S, Wade K, Dedio A, Guzman T, Hampton I, Lin K, Baur J, McCormack S, Mostoufi-Moab S. Exercise training and NR supplementation to improve muscle mass and fitness in adolescent and young adult hematopoietic cell transplant survivors: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Cancer. 2022 Jul 19;22(1):795. PMID: 35854224.
- Bhandari R, Teh JB, He T, Peng K, Iukuridze A, Atencio L, Nakamura R, Mostoufi-Moab S, McCormack S, Lee K, Wong FL, Armenian SH. Association between body composition and development of glucose intolerance after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2022 Jul 6. PMID: 35797113.
- Bhandari R, Liao Y, Ma K. The role of body composition in the development of diabetes mellitus among childhood cancer survivors, and novel intervention strategies to mitigate diabetes risk. Cancer. Accepted 25 June 2025. In press.
- Bhandari R, Armenian SH, McCormack S, Natarajan R, Mostoufi-Moab S. Diabetes in Childhood Cancer Survivors: Emerging concepts in pathophysiology and future directions. Frontiers in Medicine. 2023 Aug 22;10:1206071. PMID: 37675136.
Reviews
- Bhandari R, Armenian SH, McCormack S, Natarajan R, Mostoufi-Moab S. Diabetes in Childhood Cancer Survivors: Emerging concepts in pathophysiology and future directions. Frontiers in Medicine. 2023 Aug 22.
- Shah UA, Ballinger RH, Bhandari R, Dieli-Conwright CM, Guertin KA, Hibler E, Kalam F, Lohmann AE, Ippolito J. Imaging Modalities for Measuring Body Composition in Patients with Cancer: Opportunities and Challenges. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2023 May 4; 2023(61):56-67. PMID: 37139984.
- Shah R. The role of nutrition and diet in Alzheimer disease: a systematic review. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2013 Jun; 14(6):398-402. PMID: 23419980.