Dr. Aviya L. Levy is a dedicated pediatric rheumatologist at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego. She earned her medical degree from the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University in Providence, RI, and completed her pediatrics residency at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in the Bronx, NY. She further specialized by completing a fellowship in pediatric rheumatology at Seattle Children’s Hospital in Seattle, WA. Dr. Levy also holds a master’s degree in health services from the University of Washington and has completed narrative medicine facilitator training through the Northwest Narrative Medicine Collaborative.
Passionate about integrating narrative medicine into clinical practice, Dr. Levy co-founded and leads the Narrative Medicine Workgroup affiliated with the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA). This national organization focuses on advancing research within pediatric rheumatology. She also co-leads the Myositis International Health and Research Collaborative Alliance (MIHRA) Psychological Impact and Wellbeing group, aiming to raise awareness about mental health for patients living with myositis.
Dr. Levy’s research interests include exploring narrative medicine as a therapeutic tool to address anxiety, depression, and disconnectedness, particularly for patients with chronic illnesses. She has a particular interest in juvenile dermatomyositis and has received several grants supporting her work, including funding through Harmony 4 Hope, Cure JM, and the University of Washington Housestaff Quality and Safety Committee. Her research initiatives have been published in leading medical journals, contributing to the fields of juvenile dermatomyositis and chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis, among others.
Dr. Levy has been honored as a member of the Gold Humanism Honor Society and Sigma Xi Scientific Research Honor Society. She has also been recognized for teaching excellence with residents.