Dr. Ajitha Kommalapati was born in India and grew up in Cypress, Texas. She completed her undergraduate degree in biochemistry at the University of Texas at Austin. After discovering an overarching fascination with human physiology, she went on to complete her medical degree at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Her love of internal medicine was apparent throughout her clinical rotations but hematology and oncology were always of particular interest since her first lecture about red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Dr. Kommalapati performed research on coagulopathies related to circuits such as ECMO and ventricular assist devices. She has since resigned herself to a lifelong love of blood.
Dr. Kommalapati chose to pursue her internship and residency training at Washington University in St. Louis/Barnes Jewish Hospital after being inspired by the people that she met at the institution. As expected, her training was enhanced by the excellent teachers, patients, and fellow trainees that she encountered. Dr. Kommalapati further explored her interest in hematologic malignancies and bone marrow transplant during this time with a special focus on multiple myeloma including comorbidities and risk stratification for various treatment pathways. She also greatly enjoyed the opportunity to pass on clinical knowledge and skills as a teacher while working with medical students.
She joined the Department of Medicine in the Division of Hospital Medicine as an Instructor in July 2019. Dr. Kommalapati hopes to continue working on hematology/oncology focused research while providing excellent inpatient patient centered care and continuing to be a teacher as well as a lifelong learner.