Senbagam Virudachalam, MD, MSHP
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (General Pediatrics) at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Attending Physician, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Faculty, Clinical Futures, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Faculty, PolicyLab, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Senior Fellow, Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, University of Pennsylvania
Scientific Director, Culinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Director of Sustainable Community Health Partnerships, Community Health and Literacy Center, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Faculty Lead, Family and Community Health Portfolio, PolicyLab, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Director of Food Equity, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Primary Care Network
Department: Pediatrics
Contact information
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Roberts Center for Pediatric Research
Division of General Pediatrics, 10th floor, #10-323
2716 South Street
Philadelphia, PA 19146
Roberts Center for Pediatric Research
Division of General Pediatrics, 10th floor, #10-323
2716 South Street
Philadelphia, PA 19146
Office: 215-590-6753
Fax: 267-426-0380
Fax: 267-426-0380
Education:
BA (Major - Molecular and Cell Biology; Minor - English)
University of California, Berkeley, 2002.
MD (Medicine)
Pennsylvania State University, 2007.
MSHP (Health Policy Research)
University of Pennsylvania, 2012.
Permanent linkBA (Major - Molecular and Cell Biology; Minor - English)
University of California, Berkeley, 2002.
MD (Medicine)
Pennsylvania State University, 2007.
MSHP (Health Policy Research)
University of Pennsylvania, 2012.
Description of Clinical Expertise
Dr. Virudachalam is a general pediatrician with experience in both inpatient and outpatient settings. She currently practices pediatric primary care in South Philadelphia.Description of Research Expertise
Dr. Virudachalam’s research focuses on food justice, advancing equity in diet quality, and health outcomes for all children. She studies cross-sector approaches to ensure that all children have stable access to healthy food environments at home and in their communities, enabling them to thrive and grow into healthy adults. Dr. Virudachalam has extensive experience conducting community-engaged research, especially regarding the evaluation of produce prescriptions and Home Plate, a food literacy and cooking skills intervention for low-income parents that she developed in close partnership with Early Head Start.Selected Publications
Senbagam Virudachalam, Judith A. Long, Michael O. Harhay, Daniel E. Polsky, Chris Feudtner: Prevalence and Patterns of Cooking Dinner at Home in the USA: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007-2008. Public Health Nutrition 17(5): 1022-30, May 2014 Notes: Epub Oct 2013. DOI: 10.1017/S1368980013002589.Senbagam Virudachalam, Lydia Soo-Hyun Kim, Hilary Seligman: Produce Prescriptions and a Path toward Food Equity for Children. JAMA Pediatrics 177(3): 223-224, Mar 2023 Notes: Epub Jan 2023. DOI: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.5543.
Emma K. Edmondson, Christina A. Roberto, Emily F. Gregory, Nandita Mitra, and Senbagam Virudachalam: Association of a Sweetened Beverage Tax and Soda Consumption in High School Students, A Quasi-Experimental Approach. JAMA Pediatrics 175(12): 1261-1268, Dec 2021 Notes: DOI: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.3991.
William J. Heerman, Erica Kenney, Jason P. Block, Lauren Fiechtner, Ellen McMahon, Lauren Kruse, Mona Sharifi, Emma K. Edmondson, Senbagam Virudachalam: A Narrative Review of Public Health Interventions for Childhood Obesity. Current Obesity Reports 13(1): 87-97, Mar 2024 Notes: doi: 10.1007/s13679-023-00550-z.
Danielle Cullen, Rachel Brown, Georgia Reilly, Falguni Patel, Carly Freedman, Senbagam Virudachalam: Experiences with Pandemic Food Access among Clinic-Based Community Supported Agriculture Program Participants. Maternal and Child Health Journal 27(2): 375-384, Feb 2023 Notes: Epub Dec 2022. DOI: 10.1007/s10995-022-03580-6.
Montoya-Williams D, Barreto A, Laguna-Torres A, Worsley D, Wallis K, Peña MM, Ortiz R, Palladino L, Salva N, Levine L, Rivera A, Hernandez R, Fuentes-Afflick E, Yun K, Lorch SA, Virudachalam S: Philadelphia Latine Immigrant Birthing People’s Perspectives on Mitigating the Chilling Effect on Prenatal Care Utilization. Medical Care 62(2): 404-415, Jun 2024 Notes: doi: 10.1097/MLR.0000000000002002.
Emma K. Edmondson, Stephanie M. Garcia, Emily F. Gregory, Mary Ellen Vajravelu, Dava Szalda, Judy A. Shea, Senbagam Virudachalam: Emerging Adults with Type 2 Diabetes: Understanding Illness Experience and Transition to Adult Care. Journal of Adolescent Health 75(1): 107-11, Jul 2024 Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2024.02.021.
Megan Oberle, Virginia Stallings, Justine Shults, Senbagam Virudachalam: Impact of the 2009 WIC Food Package Changes on Maternal Dietary Quality. Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition 188(8): 1493-1502, Feb 2020 Notes: Epub. DOI: 10.1080/19320248.2020.1724227.
Aditi Vasan, DanaRose Negro, Mishaal Yazdani, Lindsay Benitez, Senbagam Virudachalam, Chen C. Kenyon, Alexander G. Fiks: Caregiver Preferences for Primary Care Clinic-Based Nutrition Assistance: A Discrete Choice Experiment. Academic Pediatrics 24(4): 619-626, May-Jun 2024 Notes: doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2024.02.008.
Emily F Gregory, Adya I Maddox, Alyssa Tindall, Jose L Ibarra, Senbagam Virudachalam: Comparison of cardiovascular health between parents and non-parents in NHANES 2011-2018. Family and Community Health 47(3): 231-238, Jul 2024 Notes: doi: 10.1097/FCH.0000000000000403.