Rania Awaad

Rania Awaad, M.D. is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine where she serves as Director of the Stanford Muslim Mental Health & Islamic Psychology Lab and Stanford University's Affiliate Chaplain. She also holds significant administrative roles as Associate Division Chief for Public Mental Health and Population Sciences and Section Co-Chief of Diversity and Cultural Mental Health. Dr. Awaad is additionally a faculty member of the Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies and has affiliations with multiple organizations including Maristan (where she serves as Executive Director), The Rahmah Foundation, Cambridge Muslim College, The Islamic Seminary of America, Yaqeen Institute, and the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding.

Dr. Awaad's research interests focus on Muslim Mental Health, Islamic Psychology, Cultural Psychiatry, Women's Mental Health, and Refugee Mental Health. As Director of the Muslim Mental Health Lab, her work spans Community Based Participatory Research with American Muslim Communities, Historical representations of Mental Health in the Muslim world, Psychometric Scales Specific to Muslims, Islamic Framework for Mental Health, Social Justice and Muslim Mental Health, and International and Refugee Mental Health. Her scholarly output demonstrates a consistent trajectory toward understanding the intersection of Islamic tradition and contemporary mental health practice.

Her 15 most recent publications reveal a strong emphasis on suicide prevention within Muslim communities, mental health stigma, culturally competent care for Muslim populations, and the historical roots of mental health care in Islamic intellectual heritage. The publications show increasing sophistication in methodology from community-based participatory research to historical analysis of Ottoman music therapy, reflecting her dual expertise in clinical psychiatry and Islamic scholarship.

• Department Faculty Professional and Leadership Award, Stanford University School of Medicine (2021)
• Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award, Stanford Psychiatry Residency Program (2021)
• Stanford Leadership Development Program, Stanford University (2020-2021)
• Top 25 Faith and Spiritual Influencers of 2020 Award, HolyTV (2020)
• Community Achievement Award for exceptional commitment to promoting mental health wellbeing, ACCESS California (2019)

Dr. Awaad serves as a Med Scholar Project Advisor to students like Besher Ashouri and has established multiple Muslim mental health clinics and custom-tailored training programs for clinicians and religious leaders. Her work with the El Camino Women's Medical Group reflects her commitment to women's mental health, while her international work with Syrian and Iraqi refugees in Jordan demonstrates her global perspective. She has pioneered the first Muslim Mental Health Community Advisory Board in the US and has been invited by Presidents Obama and Biden to present her work at national convenings in DC.

As the first female Professor of Islamic Law at Zaytuna College and a scholar with certifications (ijaza) in Qur'an, Islamic Law, and other branches of Islamic Sciences from Damascus, Syria, Dr. Awaad uniquely bridges Western medical training and traditional Islamic scholarship. Her laboratory serves as an academic home for the study of mental health as it relates to the Islamic faith and Muslim populations, providing intellectual resources to clinicians, researchers, and community leaders.