Dr. Patel is a board-certified surgeon with an extensive background in research. As an undergraduate at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY, he was accepted into a collaborative physician-scientist program with Albany Medical College, in Albany, NY. The accelerated medical program enabled him to graduate with a Doctor of Medicine with Distinction in Research degree. He performed his general surgery residency at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ypsilanti, MI where he received two consecutive Resident Research Awards for Excellence in Surgical Research. His fellowship in minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery was accomplished at the Bariatric Medical Institute of Texas and the University of Texas at Houston.