UAB Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation is thrilled to welcome Assistant Professor Rachel Teranishi, M.D., effective September 1, 2022.

Teranishi grew up in Northern California and completed her medical school at Georgetown University and her preliminary internship at Harbor Hospital in Baltimore.

Following, Teranishi graduated from Stanford University for residency. She will soon finish her Brain Injury Medicine fellowship at Carolinas Rehabilitation in Charlotte.

Her career interests include brain injury, spasticity management, and neurorehabilitation. Outside of medicine, her hobbies include traveling with her husband, yoga, trying new restaurants, and hiking with their dog, Pepper.

"UAB has an excellent reputation as a health care system and the Spain Rehabilitation Center has a long history of advocacy. The PM&R department has a lot of opportunities for growth under the direction of a chair who is not only an experienced clinician and leader, but an incredibly wonderful person to work with. UAB is one of the few institutes that is a TBI Model Systems site, with a robust research department and opportunities for collaboration." says Teranishi.

Teranishi will join the department as an assistant professor, primarily in a clinical position, and plans to devote her time to providing care to those with a diagnosis of brain injury. The remainder of her time will be split between research, teaching, and administrative duties. Her clinical time will mostly be in the outpatient clinic and consult settings, with the opportunity to expand to inpatient rehabilitation services as well. 

"Even though my official start date is in the future, I already feel like a part of the UAB family! I am excited to be joining such an amazing team."