Nazia Raja-Khan

Dr. Nazia Raja-Khan is a physician-scientist and clinical endocrinologist at Penn State College of Medicine, holding the rank of Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Psychiatry and Behavioral Health. She founded the Penn State Mindfulness Research Group and serves as Associate Program Director for the Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism Fellowship.

Education:

• MD from SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University (1996–2000)
• MS in Health Evaluation Sciences from Penn State College of Medicine (2005–2007)
• BS in Psychology from Brooklyn College and Graduate Center of CUNY (1992–1996)

Research interests focus on mindfulness-based interventions for chronic diseases like diabetes, prediabetes, obesity, and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). She investigates how these interventions optimize stress reduction and improve metabolic outcomes, including fasting glucose and subjective stress levels.

Scientific contributions include randomized controlled trials on mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) in overweight women and studies linking mindfulness to diabetes management. Her work spans clinical trials, behavioral medicine, and public health domains.

Scientific awards

• Golden Key International Honour Society (1996)
• Mark J. Young Award for Outstanding Scholarship (2007)
• Phi Beta Kappa Member (1996)
• Outstanding Collaborative Research Team (2021)

Dr. Raja-Khan mentors medical students, endocrinology fellows, and faculty members, while leading grants from the NIH and National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. She lectures on adrenal diseases and PCOS and supervises clinical training programs.