Michael Rabow

Michael Rabow, MD, FAAHPM, holds the Helen Diller Family Chair in Palliative Care and serves as Professor of Clinical Medicine and Urology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine. He is Associate Chief of Education & Mentoring in the Division of Palliative Medicine within the Department of Medicine. Dr. Rabow directs the Symptom Management Service at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, one of the nation's largest outpatient palliative care programs providing co-management across 50+ weekly clinics at three campuses. His leadership extends to the UCSF Palliative Care Leadership Center and the MERI Center for Education in Palliative Care, which serves as the central hub for palliative care education across UCSF.

Dr. Rabow's research focuses on outpatient palliative care service delivery, with expertise in telemedicine applications, health disparities, and community-based palliative care models. His work includes significant contributions to PCORI studies examining home-based palliative care and telemedicine efficacy. Current research investigates race and ethnicity in Poetic Medicine for Grief. His scholarly output spans palliative care, spirituality, family caregiving, and end-of-life care education, with over 130 peer-reviewed publications.

As a national leader, Dr. Rabow serves on advisory boards for the Center to Advance Palliative Care (IPAL-OP initiative), National Comprehensive Cancer Network, and California State University San Marcos Palliative Care Institute. His educational leadership includes directing the MERI Center for Education in Palliative Care and co-editing the world's best-selling medical textbook Current Medical Diagnosis and Treatment.

• AAHPM Visionary in Palliative Care (2024)
• UCSF Pride Award (2025)
• Hastings Center Cunniff-Dixon Physician Award (2012)
• Soros Project on Death in America Faculty Scholar (2002)
• Multiple UCSF teaching awards including Essential Core Teaching Award (2010)

Dr. Rabow's mentorship extends through the UCSF Academy of Medical Educators and his role as founding director of the Center for the Study of the Healer's Art at Commonweal. His work with the California Hospital Initiative in Palliative Services established foundational support for hospital-based palliative care across California. Current grant activities include PCORI-funded studies on telemedicine and race/ethnicity in grief interventions, building on previous leadership in the Archstone Foundation's Hospital-Based Palliative Care Service Innovations project.