Sheetal Khedkar Rao, MD, MS
Internal Medicine Physician, Fellow of Climate and Health Science Policy
Redefining Modern Medicine
A powerhouse physician and academic leader at the intersection of internal medicine and planetary health.
Dr. Sheetal Khedkar Rao is a board-certified, practicing primary care physician and Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine in the Department of Academic Internal Medicine at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). She is also the Assistant Theme Lead of Health, Illness and Society at UIC's College of Medicine.
Dr. Rao completed the Harvard Center for Health Equity Education and Advocacy (CHEEA) Climate and Health Organizing Fellowship in 2022 and the University of Colorado Climate and Health Science Policy Fellowship in 2023. She develops and teaches planetary health curriculum at UIC's College of Medicine and School of Public Health.
She is a co-investigator in UIC's NIH P20 Center for Extreme Conditions and Health Excellence (CECHE) where her work focuses on youth climate education, heat vulnerability and health benefits of nature-based solutions. In 2021, Dr. Rao co-founded Nordson Green Earth Foundation— a 501(c)(3) non-profit that partners with historically marginalized Chicagoland communities to increase native greenspaces.
Nordson Green Earth is a member of the National Academy of Medicine's Climate Communities Network. Dr. Rao serves as an active board member of the Illinois Clinicians for Climate Action. She frequently speaks about the health impacts of climate change and environmental hazards for local and national audiences.