Dr. Raif S. Geha (BS General '65, MD '69) is a globally renowned physician-scientist whose pioneering work has advanced the understanding of immunodeficiency and allergic diseases. A prominent allergist, immunologist, and clinician, he is the James Gamble Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. Over several decades, he has combined trailblazing leadership, innovative research, clinical excellence, and mentorship to make an enduring impact on pediatrics and immunology.
Born in 1945, Geha received his BS General in 1965 and his MD in 1969 from the American University of Beirut (AUB). After interning at the AUB Medical Center, he moved to train in pediatrics and immunology at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children's Hospital, where he completed his residency in 1971 and a fellowship in immunology in 1974.
As chief of Allergy for ten years and chief of the Division of Immunology, Allergy, Rheumatology and Dermatology for another 35 years at Boston Children's Hospital, Geha has transformed the hospital into a global center for excellence in pediatric immunology. He is widely recognized for identifying the genetic causes of primary immunodeficiencies, which he has been researching for more than 40 years and for his seminal contributions to understanding the mechanisms of atopic dermatitis (eczema). He made significant contributions to the study of B and T cells—the two main types of white blood cells responsible for the body's immune response—particularly in understanding how they communicate and function in health and disease.
As a senior faculty member at Harvard, Geha continues to conduct groundbreaking research in human immune deficiencies and allergic diseases, while mentoring medical students, junior faculty, and over 150 postdoctoral fellows in the US, many of whom have gone on to become leading clinicians and researchers. He treats patients with rare and complex immunological conditions and promotes international collaborations through leadership roles in global immunodeficiency initiatives.
His work has laid the foundation for molecular diagnostics and targeted therapies in immunodeficiency and allergy, publishing over 750 peer-reviewed articles in high-impact journals, book chapters and reviews, article contributions, monographs, and co-authored books presenting case studies in allergic disorders and immunology.
Dr. Geha received the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (AAAAI) Distinguished Scientist Award in 2008, the Honorary Fellow Award from the AAAAI in 2011, the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Science Prize in Applied Medical Sciences in 2007, the American Association of Immunologists Prize for Human Immunology Research in 2006, and the E. Mead Johnson Award for Pediatric Research of the Society for Pediatric Research in 1987. In 2023, the AAAAI Foundation (FAAAAI) established the Raif Geha, MD, FAAAAI Lectureship.
He has established the International Consortium for Immune Deficiency, a network of more than 35 centers in 25 countries aimed at advancing research and clinical care of patients with immunodeficiency. He is a founding member of the NIH Atopic Dermatitis Research Network, and has presided over the Clinical Immunology Society as well as chaired the WHO/IUIS Committee on Immunodeficiency. He has been an exceptional mentor for generations of scientists across academia, several of whom have made substantial scientific contributions.
Geha has offered generously to his alma mater and comes from a family with many connections to AUB, including his wife Orietta (MS Biology '70), his sister Samia (BS Biology '60, MS Biology '62, and his brother Alexander (BS General '55, MD '59), who served on the AUB Board of Trustees from 2006-12 and is now trustee emeritus. Raif and Orietta have three daughters, two of whom are physicians and one a judge.