Rakhi Naik, MD, MHS

• Interim Director, Division of Hematology
• Director, Hematology Fellowship Track
• Director, Organ Systems Foundation of Medicine (OSFM)

Rakhi Naik, MD, MHS is the interim Chief of the Division of Hematology at the Johns Hopkins University of School of Medicine. She also serves as Director of the Johns Hopkins Hematology Fellowship Track, the longest-standing classical (non-malignant) hematology-focused training program in the United States.

Dr. Naik is an accomplished hematologist, educator and researcher with expertise in program-building, workforce development, and education innovation. She is the co-founder and inaugural chair of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Hematology-Focused Fellowship Training Program (HFFTP), a $23.6 million multi-institution collaboration aimed at recruiting and retaining physicians in academic classical hematology.

Dr. Naik’s research focuses on the interplay between hemoglobin disorders and thrombosis, and she has published first-author manuscripts in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Annals of Internal Medicine, and Blood. Dr. Naik has been an active member of ASH for over 10 years, having served in several nominated positions including on the ASH Committee on Training, the ASH Recruitment & Retention Working Group, and the ASH Sickle Cell Trait Task Force. Prior to her role as interim Director, she served as Associate Director of the Division of Hematology, overseeing faculty recruitment and clinical growth to support the Division’s research and education missions.

Dr. Naik’s clinical expertise spans the breadth of complex hematologic disorders, including autoimmune cytopenias, immune dysregulation, coagulation disorders, hemoglobinopathies, and myeloid diseases. She has received numerous teaching awards, including the Johns Hopkins University Professors’ Award for Excellence in Teaching, and is an inducted member of the Miller Coulson Academy of Clinical Excellence.

Dr. Naik holds an undergraduate degree in Biomedical & Electrical Engineering from Duke University, an M.D. with Honors in Research from Cornell University, and a Masters in Health Science (MHS) from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.  She completed her Internal Medicine Residency and Hematology Fellowship training at Johns Hopkins, where she also served as Assistant Chief of Service (Chief Resident).

Dr. Naik's research focuses on understanding the epidemiology and mechanisms of venous thromboembolism and chronic kidney disease in sickle cell disease and sickle cell trait.  Her studies were the first to demonstrate the association between sickle cell trait and renal disease.  Her work has also been instrumental in documenting the high risk of venous thromboembolism in sickle cell disease and sickle cell trait.  

• Miller Coulson Academy of Clinical Excellence, 2025
• ASH Education Program Co-Chair, 2024
• Johns Hopkins University Professors' Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2024
• W. Barry Wood Excellence in Teaching Award, 2024
• Johns Hopkins Institute of Excellence in Education (IEE) Teaching Award, 2022
• ASH Hematology-Focused Fellowship Training Program Award, 2022
• Baltimore Magazine Top Doctors, Hematology, 2021
• Johns Hopkins Center for Innovative Medicine (CIM) Scholar, 2020
• Johns Hopkins Catalyst Award, 2020
• ASH Scholar Award, Clinical Junior Faculty, 2020
• ASH Medical Educators Institute (MEI), 2018
• NHLBI Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award (K08), 2015
• Johns Hopkins Clinician Scientist Career Development Award (CSA), 2015
• ASH Clinical Research Training Institute (CRTI), 2014