Rate My Professor Rashmi Rao

Rashmi Rao is an Associate Professor of Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology in the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychobiology from the University of California, Los Angeles (1998-2002), a Master of Arts in Medical Science (2005-2010), and a Doctor of Medicine (2010) from Boston University School of Medicine. Dr. Rao completed her internship (2011) and residency (2014) in Obstetrics and Gynecology at UCLA School of Medicine, followed by a Maternal-Fetal Medicine fellowship (2017) at the same institution. She joined UCLA as Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine in 2017, advancing to her current associate professor position. Previously, she served as Administrative Chief Resident at UCLA (2013-2014) and Obstetrics and Gynecology Resident at Boston University School of Medicine (2005-2010).

Dr. Rao's clinical and research interests center on high-risk pregnancy, rare diseases of pregnancy affecting both mother and fetus, maternal malignancy, and maternal mental health. She leads a research group focused on these areas, including the NIH-funded Pregnancy in Osteogenesis Imperfecta Registry and the COVID-19 Outcomes in Mother-Infant Pairs (COMP) study. Her contributions include clinical trials such as the randomized controlled trial of prophylactic unfractionated heparin in antepartum hospitalizations and postpartum visits at 2 and 6 weeks. Key publications encompass "Emergency department use among postpartum women with mental health disorders" (American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology MFM, 2021), "Prophylactic Unfractionated Heparin in Antepartum Hospitalizations: A Randomized Controlled Trial" (Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2024), "Neurodevelopmental delay in children exposed to maternal SARS-CoV-2 in-utero" (Scientific Reports, 2024), "The systemic inflammatory landscape of COVID-19 in pregnancy" (Cell Reports Medicine, 2021), and "Biology, care, and outcomes of gestational breast cancers: a review" (Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, 2025). She has authored or co-authored numerous peer-reviewed articles in journals including American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Prenatal Diagnosis. Dr. Rao has received the NIH Rare Disease Clinical Research Training Program Fellowship (2015-2016), Resident Research Award from UCLA Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (2013-2014), Super Doctors Southern California (2025, 2026), and Top Doctors by Los Angeles Magazine (2019, 2021, 2024, 2025). She serves as Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellowship Program Director and collaborates across UCLA Schools of Engineering and Public Health.