Maya Kumar, M.D.

Bio

Dr. Maya Kumar is a board-certified pediatrician and adolescent medicine physician.

She specializes in caring for children, adolescents and young adults who struggle with nutritional and eating disorders. In addition to providing outpatient consultation around these issues, she cares for hospitalized eating disorder patients with severe medical complications. In 2019, she was appointed chair of the Adolescent Nutrition Committee for the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine.

Dr. Kumar has a special interest in adolescent sexual health and gynecologic care (including contraception and menstrual problems), using a trauma-informed and developmentally-appropriate approach to these sensitive issues. In addition to traditional contraceptive methods, she offers insertion of long-acting, reversible contraceptive devices to adolescents and young adults, including intrauterine devices (IUDs) and subdermal implants (Nexplanon) for pregnancy prevention and reducing menstrual flow.

Dr. Kumar also provides care for youth with anxiety, depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and school-related or social challenges, including psychotropic medication management.

At the UC San Diego School of Medicine, Dr. Kumar serves as the adolescent medicine medical education liaison and the adolescent medicine rotation site coordinator for the Pediatric Residency Program and the clinical clerks. She is active in training medical students and residents in the care of adolescents using a biopsychosocial approach. She was awarded the 2017 UCSD Whitehill Prize for excellence in clinical teaching.

Dr. Kumar is active in her scholarly work; she has published guidelines on adolescent nutritional disorders and numerous other articles related to adolescent health issues, including eating disorders, substance abuse and reproductive health. She frequently presents scholarly work at international conferences and has won several research awards. She is also a reviewer for several peer-reviewed journals.

Dr. Kumar is frequently invited to speak to physicians, nurses, psychologists and other health providers about unique health issues faced by adolescents and young adults. She has created educational videos and has taught webinars for general pediatricians about adolescent vaccines. In 2018, she was named Doctor of the Quarter by the San Diego chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Dr. Kumar is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Royal College of Physicians of Canada, and a member of several professional societies, including the Society of Adolescent Health and Medicine.

She is an active member of the San Diego County Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, volunteering her time for community-based initiatives promoting pediatric and adolescent health. She founded the Adolescent Health Committee on San Diego's chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and received a Special Achievement Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2017 for her advocacy work and community service.

Outside of work, Dr. Kumar enjoys cooking, gardening, walks and hikes, and spending time with her family, including a highly enthusiastic dog.

Publications

Society of Adolescent Health and Medicine Position Statement: Addressing nutritional disorders in adolescents
Kumar MM, Al-Buhairain F, Galagali P, Docter-Dixon A, Weiss A, Keough L

A Brief Provider Training Video Improves Comfort With Recommending the Human Papillomavirus Vaccine
Kumar MM, Boies EG, Sawyer MH, Kennedy M, Williams C, Rhee KE

Long-acting reversible contraception for adolescents: More complex than ?first-line
Kumar MM

Right question resolves teen's pain dilemma
Kumar MM

Changing Physician Approaches to Marijuana Use in a New Era of Legalization
Reiss J, Rhee KE, Kumar MM

Outcomes of an inpatient refeeding protocol in youth with anorexia nervosa: Rady Children's Hospital San Diego/University of California, San Diego
Maginot TR, Kumar MM, Shiels J, Kaye WE, Rhee KE

Reach Out and Read Is Feasible and Effective for Adolescent Mothers: A Pilot Study
Kumar MM, Cowan HR, Erdman L, Kaufman M, Hick KM

Chronic Headaches After a Concussion in an Obese 16-Year-Old Girl
Kumar MM, Gahagan S, Pickering B, Gold J, Stein MT

Housing and Sexual Health Among Street-Involved Youth
Kumar MM, Nisenbaum R, Barozzino T, Sgro M, Bonifacio HJ, Maguire JL

Inattentive Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Stimulant Medication, and Weight Loss in a 15-Year-Old Girl: Are We Enabling the Development of an Eating Disorder?
Iyer S, Kumar M, Reiff MI, Stein M.

Sexual knowledge of Canadian adolescents after completion of high school sexual education requirements
Kumar MM, Lim R, Langford C, Seabrook JA, Speechley KN, Lynch T

Transient blindness as the primary symptom of acute hyponatremia post surgery
Kumar MM, Foster JR, Sharan S, DeRibaupierre S, McKillop SJ, Kornecki A