Gowri Anandarajah MD, FAAFP, Professor of Family Medicine and Medical Science (Clinician Educator Track), is a medical educator who has been on the faculty at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University since 1992. She graduated from Dartmouth College and the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, completed family medicine residency at Duke University Medical Center, where she served as chief resident, and completed a Faculty Leadership Fellowship at Brown. She is currently an Associate Dean of Medicine, Gateways, and the Inaugural Program Director for the Brown Gateways to Medicine, Healthcare & Research Program (freestanding ScM in Medical Sciences), which aims to improve the diversity of the physician workforce (pipeline) via academic preparation and mentoring of students who are URiM, first generation college students, and/or have had other hardships along their the path to medicine. She is also Course Director of the Health Systems Science Course for Year 1 medical students, which focuses on health disparities and structural barriers to healthcare, and is an Associate Medical Director at Hope Hospice and Palliative Care Rhode Island. Dr. Anandarajah has held numerous other leadership positions while at Brown. In the Family Medicine Department these have included her roles as Residency Director, Clinical Director of one of the residency’s resident/faculty teaching practices, Director of Faculty Development and Inaugural Co-Director of the Global Health Faculty Development Fellowship. In the medical school, she has taught at every level and was Co-Director of the Doctoring Course in its infancy. She is nationally and internationally known for her scholarly work in the area of spirituality in health. Her HOPE questions for patient-centered spiritual assessment have been translated into over 10 languages and are used around the world. Her other areas of academic interest include: medical education & evaluation; care of underserved populations (global and local), including addressing health disparities, social justice and equity; professional identity formation; resilience; advanced communication skills; interprofessional training; and hospice & palliative medicine. Dr. Anandarajah has maintained an active clinical practice throughout her career, working as a family physician in multiple settings serving diverse patient populations, including community health centers, academia (hospital and clinic attending), emergency rooms, global settings, and hospice/palliative care. She has also served in leadership positions in national professional organizations and been on the Board of Directors of local agencies caring for underserved communities.
