Women in Medicine: Rania Awaad, MD

Why did you pursue a career in medicine?

As a Muslim faith leader, I discovered early on that in order to really serve my community in a more holistic manner I needed to be better trained in mental health. That led me down a path I hadn't considered right at the outset: becoming a psychiatrist and clinical researcher whose work focuses on Muslim mental health- fully integrating the most up to date, evidence-based scientific and clinical research with authentic Islamic teachings to better serve the needs of Muslim communities.

What is your work focused on?

My work broadly focuses on mental health and faith. More specifically, mental health in Muslim communities. I have founded and direct the only academic lab in the country focused on this topic. The Stanford Muslim Mental Health & Islamic Psychology Lab does not just produce research, it also nurtures and produces junior scholars, researchers and clinicians who plan to dedicate their career to serving the otherwise underserved and poorly understood Muslim communities. Recently, I helped found a non-profit arm to my lab called Maristan.org focused on holistic clinical and educational mental health resources for Muslim communities and is a training site for mental health clinicians.

What is the most fulfilling part of your work?

The most fulfilling part of my work is mentorship - I LOVE building the very platforms that I could not find when I was going through training myself and the types of mentorship I so craved. I have now mentored hundreds of clinicians and researchers who intend to focus their work on Muslim mental health- their collective efforts will amount to a whole lot more than I could have accomplished alone in my own lifetime. It is so exciting to see our collective work on Muslim mental health published in top-tier journals such as JAMA, Lancet, etc. and featured on hundreds of national and international news outlets. It's really amazing to see the fruit of our team's collective labor- I'm deeply an honor to build this work from the ground up and see it have such an immense impact.

What advice would you give yourself when you started in the field, knowing what you know now?

Years ago, if you had told me that there would one day be a dedicated lab and clinic focused on Muslim mental health and it would become the go-to source on this topic, I would never have believed you! Do not listen to the naysayers. Do not believe anyone who tells you that your dreams are impossible. Stay humble, work hard, "tie your camel" (do your part), and let the rest take its course (if faithful, let God take it from there).