Dr. Patel studied at Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine, receiving a Doctor of Osteopathy degree in 2001. Dr. Patel then pursued residency in Internal Medicine at McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University and completed a clinical research fellowship at Winthrop University Hospital. In 2006 he joined the Hematology, Oncology and Transplantation fellowship at the University of Minnesota and in July 2010 became a faculty member of the Division. In 2019, Dr. Patel became the associate program director for the hematology, oncology, and transplantation fellowship program. He also leads the experimental therapeutics phase I clinical program at the University of Minnesota.