Dr. Rachel Hughes is a compassionate, board-certified pediatrician with over 10 years of clinical experience, as well as a long-time North Carolina local.  She loves serving in Pediatrics and is dedicated to working together with children and families to help them thrive. 

As Valedictorian at North Carolina State University, Dr. Hughes graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry with Honors and a minor in Health, Medicine and Human Affairs.  She then attended Duke University School of Medicine, where she earned her Doctor of Medicine degree.  Dr. Hughes next completed Duke University’s Pediatric Residency Program, before being hired to stay at Duke University Children’s Hospital to initiate a new Pediatric Hospitalist position.  In this role, she gained unique experience in hospital medicine as well as perioperative care by comanaging the pediatric surgical teams including neurosurgery, otolaryngology, urology, plastic, orthopedic, transplant, and general surgery. 

Before finding Cortica, Dr. Hughes also worked in primary care, helping to open and grow a local Duke Primary Care office.  There she honed her passion for attentive and thorough patient-centered care and communication and saw the benefits of this, especially for children with developmental differences and their families.  It was this experience that drew Dr. Hughes to Cortica’s whole-child approach and integrated care model.  She is glad to have the opportunity here to best support each child and family’s unique journey! 

Outside of the office, Rachel loves spending time with her family.  Always up for travel and adventure, some of her favorite trips have been backpacking through the Grand Canyon and the Zion Narrows to biking down the Danube River.  Day to day, she likes gardening, loving her dogs, and collecting funny accessories.