Arundati Rao, MBBS, assistant professor of medicine (nephrology), decided to go to medical school when she was eleven years old. Growing up in South India, she was inspired by a cousin who had trained in the United States as a cardiologist and come to India on a medical mission trip. After hearing about her cousin’s journey, Rao was convinced she wanted to pursue medicine. At eighteen, she started medical school.
Through her medical education in India, she found a passion for internal medicine. Inspired by her cousin, she knew she would benefit from strong clinical training in the U.S.; after taking the U.S. board exams, she started her internal medicine residency at the University of Connecticut (UConn) in 2016. There, she worked in three different hospitals, some with fellows and subspecialists, and some without. The experience taught her independence and inspired her love of nephrology.
She recalls a particularly memorable patient admitted to the ICU with severe hyponatremia and how captivated she was discussing renal physiology and sodium and water handling by the kidney with the nephrologists. This moment stuck with her, and much like the decision to go to medical school, she was convinced nephrology was the path for her.
Before her nephrology fellowship, Rao decided to stay on at UConn for a chief resident year, during which she became passionate about medical education. The role required her to devise fun and engaging ways to teach, and she focused on advocating for resident wellness. This first foray into medical education and administration would not be her last.
In 2020, Rao matched to Yale for her nephrology fellowship. Navigating a new hospital during a pandemic with a four-month-old baby was one of the most challenging parts of her medical training. Through it all, the Yale Section of Nephrology supported her. In part, this is what led her to stay at Yale for a second fellowship in advanced transplant nephrology.
Support from the department during the pregnancy and birth of her second child, and upon her return to work, stands out to her. “Going to Yale for fellowship is the best decision I’ve made,” she says. “I had a lot of autonomy and independence but was also treated as a colleague. I truly love the people I work with, and the environment created within the Section of Nephrology is the reason I stayed for training.” Her two children are a key part of her medical training story, not only adding a layer of complexity as she figures out how to grow her career but also giving her a new perspective and new ways to connect with people, whether colleagues or patients.
Soon after her second fellowship, her husband joined her at Yale as a cardiac electrophysiology fellow, and in 2024, Rao became the associate program director (APD) for the Yale Nephrology Fellowship.
“Having experienced a nephrology fellowship at a busy hospital like Yale, being APD is a way for me to give back and help those who come after me,” she said. “Additionally, if there is a way for me to help recruit others into the field of nephrology, it’s definitely worth my time.”
This education extends beyond fellows, to residents, students, physician assistants, and more, Rao says. One of her favorite parts of the job is keeping up with the latest science through journal club and renal rounds.
Above all, Rao is driven to pursue this work by her patients. “Seeing my patients reminds me why I’m doing this,” she says. “The impact of those connections motivates me to keep going and make a difference.”
Nephrology is one of ten sections in the Yale Department of Internal Medicine. Committed to excellence in patient care, research, and education, the section’s faculty and trainees aim to be national and international leaders in academic nephrology. To learn more, visit Nephrology.