Rana Khalil Zabad, MD, FAAN, is a board-certified neurologist and fellowship-trained neuroimmunologist with more than 17 years of clinical, academic, and research experience. She completed her neurology residency at Wayne State University and a nearly three-year fellowship in Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology at the University of Calgary, where she trained in translational neuroimmunology and immune-mediated neurological diseases.

Dr. Zabad previously served as Professor and Division Chief of the Multiple Sclerosis Program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Her research has included leadership and participation in Phase I–III clinical trials in multiple sclerosis, progressive MS, NMOSD, MOG-associated disease, and emerging cellular therapies, including allogeneic CAR-T therapy for autoimmune disease. She has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and invited reviews in neuroimmunology.

Beyond academic medicine, Dr. Zabad has provided neurological care in tertiary referral centers, rural and community practices in Alberta, Canada, and regional clinics across rural Nebraska. She helped develop regional MS and neuroimmunology outreach services, expanding access to specialized neurological care through telemedicine, multidisciplinary collaboration, and community partnerships.

Her clinical philosophy is captured by her guiding principle: “Serious Neurology, Humane Medicine”—combining scientific rigor with compassion, accessibility, and respect for each patient’s lived experience.

Dr. Zabad grew up in her father’s bookstore, surrounded by books and ideas, and shaped by an enduring culture of curiosity from an early age. Her fascination with medicine began in childhood through personal experience and reading science books long before she imagined becoming a physician. That early exposure fostered a lifelong passion for learning, critical thinking, and understanding the human experience through both science and storytelling.

Outside of medicine, she enjoys cooking and has always been drawn to aviation, believing that if medicine had not become her calling, she would likely have become a pilot. Whether in medicine, research, teaching, or daily life, Dr. Zabad remains deeply motivated by curiosity, human connection, and the belief that serious science and humane care should always coexist.