Rheumatology Consultation Service
The physicians associated with the Rheumatology Consultation Service provide both inpatient and outpatient consultation and treatment for patients with arthritic, musculoskeletal and immunologic disorders.
Rheumatology Consultation Service is comprised of Drs. Ramona Raya, Yingxue (Lucy) Zhang, Pragya (Pooja) Singh and Lynn Gerber. All are board-certified rheumatologists with many years of clinical experience and are skilled in managing all rheumatological disorders.
Drs. Raya and Singh are available to provide inpatient rheumatological consultation Monday through Friday for patients at Inova Fairfax Hospital. Drs. Zhang and Singh are available for post-acute follow up for these patients and can provide ongoing outpatient consultation as well.
Dr. Raya has specific interest in the diagnosis and management of patients with auto-immune and vasculitis disorders. Dr. Zhang's clinical interests include the diagnosis and management of patients with auto-immune disorders, osteoarthritis and osteoporosis. Dr. Singh’s interests include autoimmune disorders, hypermobility and osteoarthritis.
Medical Director of Rheumatology Consultation Service
Dr. Lynn Gerber serves as the Medical Director of Rheumatology Consultation Service. She is also the Director of Research, Department of Medicine, Inova Fairfax Hospital, Section Chief of Rheumatology, and Medical Director of the Outcomes Program at Inova's Betty and Guy Beatty Center for Integrated Research.
Dr. Gerber is a graduate of Tufts University School of Medicine, diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine, rheumatology subspecialty and the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. She was the chief of the Rehabilitation Medicine Department at the Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland from 1975-2005. In 2006, Dr. Gerber joined the faculty of George Mason University, Fairfax, VA. Her academic appointment is as professor in the Department of Health Administration and Policy, and her research base is the Center for the Study of Chronic Illness and Disability. She is a special volunteer at the Clinical Center, NIH, and is clinically privileged at NIH, Clinical Center and Inova Fairfax Hospital.
Dr. Gerber has authored or co-authored more than 130 peer reviewed publications. She teaches Inova Fairfax Hospital residents clinical research and neuromusculoskeletal physical diagnosis at the bedside. She also teaches graduate and undergraduate levels students, is faculty adviser to PhD students, and serves on Doctoral and Masters thesis committees. In addition, Dr. Gerber serves on national advisory boards.
Rheumatology Faculty
(In alphabetical order)
Dr. Ramona Raya is a board-certified internal medicine physician with subspecialty board certification in rheumatology. She joined Inova Medical Group in 2012 with over seven years of clinical experience. She has a special interest in the management of various inflammatory rheumatologic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, myositis, lupus, and vasculitis. Dr. Raya provides rheumatologic consultations and care to patients hospitalized at Inova Fairfax Hospital.
Most recently Dr. Raya served as an assistant professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin, where she won several Best Physician Awards and Best Teaching Awards. Dr. Raya became interested in rheumatology at a very young age when her mother developed rheumatoid arthritis. After completing medical school and a rotation in rheumatology, she knew that was her field of choice. Since then, she has diligently taken care of many rheumatologic patients with various conditions. Her goal is to help her patients achieve improved quality of life despite chronic illness.
A native of the Washington, DC, metro area, Dr. Raya currently resides in Northern Virginia with her husband and two children. In her spare time, she likes to travel, spend time with her family, read books and watch movies. She also enjoys choreographing and teaching Indian dance.
Dr. Pooja Singh is a specialty care physician board certified in Rheumatology. She joins Inova Medical Group with over 4 years of clinical experience. She has a special interest in management of chronic rheumatologic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, osteoarthritis, gout, psoriatic arthritis, and vasculitis.
Most recently Dr. Singh served as an assistant professor at George Washington University Hospital, where she played an active role in teaching medical students, residents and fellows. Dr. Singh became interested in rheumatology while on her rheumatology rotation in medical school. Fascinated by the systemic nature of autoimmune diseases and impressed with the emerging new treatments becoming available, Dr. Singh decided to pursue fellowship training in this field. Since then, she has worked to help patients understand their disease while helping them achieve an improved quality of life despite these chronic illnesses.
Dr. Singh currently resides in Northern Virginia with her husband and two children. In her spare time, she likes to travel, spend time with her family and run.
Dr. Lucy Zhang is a specialty care physician board certified in both internal medicine and adult rheumatology. She joins Inova Medical Group with over 10 years of clinical experience. Dr. Zhang provides comprehensive rheumatologic diagnostic expertise and ongoing care to patients with lupus, vasculitis, rheumatoid arthritis, connective tissue diseases, osteoarthritis, gout, psoriatic arthritis, osteoporosis and other rheumatologic conditions. Her practice includes inpatient work in addition to her outpatient practice.
Most recently, Dr. Zhang served as a rheumatologist and densitometrist in Central Virginia. She enjoys treating her patients with an emphasis on optimizing their health and minimizing diseases. Her goal is to provide good patient care and help them reach their personal goals in life. Her clinical research interests include optimal treatment and long term outcomes of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. She is particularly interested in discovering ways to prevent virus reactivation in immunocompromised patients with rheumatologic diseases.
Dr. Zhang currently lives in Maryland with her husband and daughter. In her spare time she likes to read books, dance Zumba and cook Chinese food.