Racha Khalaf, MD, inaugural chief of the division of pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, has been named to the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s 2026 40 Under 40 class.
The award honors young leaders across Tampa Bay whose work strengthens their organizations and the communities they serve. The Business Journal celebrated this year’s class Oct. 22 at Armature Works in Tampa and featured each honoree in its Oct. 23 edition.
“This recognition is especially meaningful because it reflects something much bigger than an individual accomplishment for me,” Dr. Khalaf said. “When I joined USF in 2020, I had the opportunity to build a pediatric gastroenterology division from the ground up. What began with one physician has grown into a thriving multidisciplinary team committed to expanding access, advancing innovative care and improving outcomes for children and families across Tampa Bay and beyond.”
Dr. Racha Khalaf, chief of pediatric gastroenterology at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, exams a patient in the USF Health Center for Allergic Diseases
Under Dr. Khalaf’s leadership, USF Health has introduced less invasive options for children with chronic digestive diseases. In 2023, USF Health became one of three sites in the country to offer the Esophageal String Test, which monitors eosinophilic esophagitis without sedation. In 2025, Dr. Khalaf performed the first unsedated pediatric transnasal endoscopy in the Tampa Bay region at Muma Children’s Hospital at Tampa General Hospital, where she also serves as medical director of the Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition Center of Excellence.
This year, she helped launch the USF Health Center for Allergic Diseases, the first clinic in Florida to bring allergy, dermatology and pediatric GI specialists together for patients with overlapping conditions.
“This recognition validates the tremendous work our team has put into building programs, introducing new technologies in Tampa Bay and creating opportunities such as unsedated endoscopy for patients that previously did not exist in our region,” Dr. Khalaf said. “I hope it also demonstrates that meaningful institutional growth and innovation can happen early in one’s career when there is vision, collaboration and a willingness to take risks.”
Dr. Khalaf’s research examines inflammation and microbiome changes in the upper intestinal tract of children with cystic fibrosis who take newer, highly effective modulator therapies. She also draws on large data sets, including the Cystic Fibrosis Registry and TriNetX,
Charles J. Lockwood, MD, MHCM
to study the disease’s GI effects before and after patients start modulator treatment.
“I am delighted to see Dr. Khalaf recognized for her outstanding leadership in the Morsani College of Medicine,” said Charles J. Lockwood, MD, MHCM, executive vice president of USF Health and dean of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. “Dr. Khalaf has already demonstrated a real commitment to and flair for finding innovative ways to make health care easier for our youngest patients, whether that’s offering new treatments or launching an interdisciplinary clinic to offer more coordinated care. She is a wonderful example of how we can put academic medicine to work Making Life Better.”
Dr. Khalaf sees more growth ahead for the division.
“Our next chapter is focused on continued growth, expanding access to subspecialized pediatric gastroenterology care and strengthening our position as a regional and national leader in clinical innovation, research and education,” she said. “There is tremendous opportunity ahead, and I am excited about what we will accomplish together at USF.”
Learn more about the USF Health Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition: https://health.usf.edu/medicine/pediatrics/gastroenterology/
Support USF Health pediatric gastroenterology: https://giving.usf.edu/online/gift/f/250488/a/25/