Ruhani Desai, MD

Ruhani Desai, MD, is a board-certified rheumatologist, who earned her medical degree from Smt. N.H.L. Municipal Medical College in India and completed her Internal Medicine residency at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, a nationally renowned center for complex and multidisciplinary care. She then completed both a Rheumatology Fellowship and an Advanced Rheumatology Research Fellowship at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, where she gained extensive clinical and research experience with a focus on systemic sclerosis.

Dr. Desai is dedicated to providing compassionate, comprehensive care of individuals living with autoimmune and inflammatory rheumatic diseases. Her clinical interests include systemic sclerosis and interstitial lung disease (ILD), conditions that benefit from close multidisciplinary collaboration. She believes in empowering patients through education and shared decision-making, delivering evidence-based care while advancing innovation in rheumatology. In addition to her clinical practice, Dr. Desai has been actively involved in medical education, mentoring, and quality improvement initiatives throughout her training, reflecting her passion for advancing the field and improving outcomes for all patients.

She is currently an Assistant Professor in Medicine at Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences Eastern Virginia Medical School at Old Dominion University, where she contributes to training the next generation of physicians while delivering high-quality care to her patients. Her approach is warm, collaborative, and informed by the latest advances in the field.