Raya E. Kheirbek, MD
- Academic Title: Professor
- Primary Appointment: Medicine
- Administrative Title: Chief, Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine - Department of Medicine; Division Chief of Geriatrics and Gerontology
- Email: rkheirbek@som.umaryland.edu
- Location: 110 S. Paca Street, PP5-N-166
- Phone (Primary): (410) 328-4615
Education and Training
- Damascus University Medical School, Syria, MD
- Damascus University Medical School, Syria, MPH
- Washington Hospital Center, Residency, Internal Medicine
- George Washington University, Fellowship, Geriatric Medicine
Certification:
Board certified in Internal Medicine, Geriatrics Medicine, Hospice and Palliative Medicine
Awards:
Named "Top Doctor" by Baltimore Magazine in 2020, 2021.
Biosketch
Raya Elfadel Kheirbek, MD, MPH, FACP, FGSA is Professor of Medicine and the inagural Chief of the Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics, and Palliative Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where she also serves as Program Director of the Geriatric Medicine Fellowship. She is a board-certified geriatrician and palliative medicine physician whose career has been dedicated to improving the care of older adults and individuals living with serious illness through clinical innovation, research, education, and public engagement.
Dr. Kheirbek's scholarly work bridges geriatrics, palliative medicine, healthy longevity, implementation science, and the medical humanities. Her research focuses on optimizing care for medically complex older adults, improving communication and decision making across the trajectory of serious illness, advancing models of interdisciplinary palliative care, and promoting healthy aging among the oldest old. She has also contributed to scholarship on dementia, Parkinson disease, heart failure, health equity, incarceration and aging, and exceptional longevity.
Her research has been supported by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the University of Maryland Institute for Clinical and Translational Research. She currently leads community-engaged research initiatives designed to improve access to palliative care and advance person-centered models of care.
In parallel with her scientific work, Dr. Kheirbek has established a national reputation in narrative medicine and public scholarship. Through peer-reviewed essays, invited commentaries, editorials, and public writing, she has explored the ethical, emotional, and human dimensions of serious illness, aging, caregiving, and death. Her work seeks to bridge rigorous science with compassionate clinical practice and to bring the voices of patients and families into academic and public discourse.
As Division Chief, she has led the expansion of one of Maryland's largest academic palliative care programs while integrating clinical care, education, research, and quality improvement across the University of Maryland Medical System. As Fellowship Program Director, she is committed to preparing the next generation of geriatricians through mentorship, curriculum innovation, and scholarly development.
Research/Clinical Keywords
Chronic Illness, Aging, Oldest Old, End of Life, Narrative Medicine
Highlighted Publications
- Liang M, Ye Z, Velma G, Liu K, Kheirbek RE, McCoy RG, Nguyen TT, Chen J, Chen S, Pan R, Feng L, Ke H, Ma T. Population-specific dementia risk prediction using deep transfer learning in diverse populations. npj Digital Medicine. 2026.
- Ojaimi N, Beamer BA, Kheirbek RH, McArdle PF, Davies-Teye BB, Johnson A, Alemi F, Kheirbek RE. Medication Refill Patterns and Mortality in U.S. Adults Aged 85+: A Retrospective Medicare Cohort Study. The Gerontologist. 2026. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnag054.
- Kheirbek RE, Davis SN. Hot flashes, cold feet: a cautious embrace of regulatory reform. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2026. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glag080.
- Izquierdo-Porrera AM, Kheirbek RE, Sorkin JD. When Little Things Add Up: Harnessing Emergence Theory to Decode Complexity in Geriatric Care. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2026. doi: 10.1111/jgs.70239.
- Schafer MH, Kheirbek RE. Palliative and end-of-life care as fragile collective accomplishment: social and medical perspectives. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2026.
6. Kheirbek RE, Hudson R, Gwatura S. The High Cost of Low Evidence: Why Cannabis Research Lags Behind its Use. Am J Med. 2025. doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2025.06.025.
7. Albrecht JS, Price J, Tung CC, Kheirbek RE. Racial Disparities in Palliative Care Among Hospitalized Older Adults with Traumatic Brain Injury. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2025. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glaf121.
8. Wallace BH, Clark-Shirley L, Rao Podapti P, Anderson R, Kheirbek RE. The ethnogeriatric imperative: strategies for increasing Black physician representation in geriatric medicine. Gerontol Geriatr Educ. 2025.
9. Mitlak HW, et al. (including Kheirbek RE). Association of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) With Days at Home Among Medicare Beneficiaries After a Heart Failure Hospitalization. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes. 2025.
10. Palmer J, Kondapaka M, Beamer BA, et al. (including Kheirbek RE). Mortality Trends in Pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 Eras Among Oldest Veterans. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2025.
11. Latham-Mintus K, Garrido M, Nelson E, Kheirbek RE. Social Vulnerability Postincarceration… Gerontologist. 2025. 2024
12. Lutz G, Yang Y, Zhang Y, Chen C, Kheirbek RE. A Tale of 2 Experiences: Navigating End-of-Life Care With a History of Incarceration. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2024.
13. Kheirbek RE, Latham-Mintus K. Addressing Enduring Health Impacts of Incarceration on Older Adults… J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2024.
14. Kheirbek RE, LaFon C. Use of antipsychotics in adults with dementia. BMJ. 2024.
15. Price JR, Kheirbek RE. Addressing the Unmet Needs of Patients With Rapidly Progressive Neurological Disease: A Case Report of Palliative Care in Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD). Cureus. 2024.
16. Wallace BH, Clark-Shirley L, Kheirbek RE. Addressing Racialized Aging in Medicine. Acad Med. 2024
Additional Publications
Awards and Affiliations
Affiliations
- American College of Physicians
- Gerontotogical Society of America
- American Geriatric Society
- American Academy of Hopsice and Palliative Medicine
Awards
Named a "Top Doctor" by Baltimore Magazine in 2020, 2021
Grants and Contracts
In the News
- May 17, 2026 – “We plan our funerals. But the act of dying is what needs attention.” (Opinion)
- December 21, 2025 – “My mother’s number is still in my phone” / interfaith cemetery (Opinion)
- April 5, 2024 – Living to 100: Making Maryland a ‘Blue Zone’ | GUEST COMMENTARY
- October 20, 2023 – A doctor’s realization: Not every patient is better off accepting death. | GUEST COMMENTARY
- September 28, 2021 – Doctor: Dying prisoners deserve dignity and palliative care… | COMMENTARY
- April 2025 – Jail Doesn’t Treat Mental Illness. Patients Need Care, Not Prison. | Opinion
- December 2025 – Families struggle with brain death… (Op-Ed)
- December 2024 – Letter to the Editor (pediatric palliative care)
- March 8, 2024 – The burden of choice: Navigating the complexities of surrogate decision-making in medicine
- June 2023 – Breaking free from restrictive covenants to combat burnout
- Multiple verified reflective essays and interviews (2016–2025), including “Message in a Bottle,” “Behind the Veil,” “At The VA, Healing the Doctor-Patient Relationship,” Inshallah, Terminal Lucidity, and related narrative pieces
Community Service
Chair Elect, SIG Heart Failure AAHPM
Professional Activity
- Gerontological Society of America (FGSA)
- American College of Physicians (FACP)
- American Geriatrics Society
- American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine
- International Consortium of Centenarians Studies
Links of Interest
OAIC National Coordinating Center
Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Centers
https://www.peppercenter.org
UMSOM Department of Medicine Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine