She received her MD as well as her PhD in Neuroscience from Johns Hopkins University, USA, where she studied molecular mechanisms underlying neuronal specification. She completed clinical training in Pediatric Gastroenterology and postdoctoral training in glial biology at Boston Children's Hospital (Harvard Medical School). Dr Rao's work is broadly focused on understanding how enteric nervous system dysfunction contributes to gastrointestinal disorders, and more specifically determining the normal functions of enteric glia as well as the role of sexual dimorphism in enteric neurobiology.