Dr. Rao completed his training in Occupational Therapy at the National Institute for Persons with Physical Disabilities in New Delhi, India. He completed a post-graduate Diploma from the All-Indian Institute for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in Mumbai, India. His graduate training included a Masters degree in Occupational Therapy from New York University and Doctoral degree in Movement Sciences from Teachers College Columbia University. He completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Computational Motor Control from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Dr. Rao primarily sees people with neurological disorders, including Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, Ataxia, Tremor, and dementia. He conducts comprehensive assessment of mobility, balance, hand function, fall risk, and activities of daily living in order to provide an individualized care plan suited to patients and their families. Dr. Rao is a member of the Huntington's Disease Center of Excellence, the Center of Excellence in Alzheimer's Disease, and the Initiative for Columbia Ataxia and Tremor. He serves on the Executive Committee of the Health Professions task force of the International Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Society.