Ray Barfield is a Professor of Pediatrics and Christian Philosophy at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. He received his MD and his PhD (in philosophy) from Emory University. He is a pediatric oncologist and palliative care physician with an interest in expanding the role of the humanities and the arts in the formation of physicians. He has published widely in medicine, philosophy, and literature, including several books.

Currently, he is the director of the Medical Humanities Program for the Trent Center for Bioethics, Medical Humanities, and History of Medicine in the Medical School. Ray is Married to Karen Barfield, an Episcopal priest. They have two children, Micah and Alexandra, and one grandson named Crew.