2010 Graduate Recognized as Infectious Diseases Expert
While first attending the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano School of Medicine as a medical student and subsequently completing her internal medicine residency at UT Health San Antonio, Payal K. Patel, MD Class of 2010, MPH, found her passion for medicine in the specialty of infectious diseases. She went on to complete a fellowship in infectious diseases and a master’s in public health at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health.
“I came into medical school knowing I was interested in public health and global health. As I learned about anatomy, pathology and physiology, I kept gravitating to the one field that was always fun to study and came naturally to me – which was the field of infectious diseases,” Dr. Patel said.
She was accepted into the school’s MD with Distinction in Research program [PPK1] and was paired with research mentor Tom Patterson, MD, who is the chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases for the Long School of Medicine.
“To find a mentor in infectious diseases was really important to me. We started working on a project that I was able to present nationally at an IDSA[PPK2] (Infectious Diseases Society of America) conference early in my career. I still am very active in IDSA [PPK3] partly because I was able to do research in this field as a medical student. I was encouraged in my career early by my mentor Dr. Patterson and the community at UT Health,” Dr. Patel said.
During her last two years of medical school and her three-year residency at UT Health, Dr. Patel said she had the opportunity to see many patients who may not have been in the health care system for a while. “These patients were presenting with TB, HIV and other infectious diseases. These were very challenging cases that really opened my eyes to health disparities and how the delivery of healthcare needs to be patient-centered.”
She appreciates the gift of mentorship and collegiality she enjoyed so early in her career. “I remember during my fourth year of medical school I did a sub-internship on the HIV team at University Hospital. I learned a lot during my fourth year on that HIV team. I still talk to the fellows, including then-fellow Jason Bowling, MD, who remains at UT Health as an infectious disease specialist seeing patients. I have learned that the community of infectious disease is such a small world full of great people,” she explained.
Dr. Patel, who is now in Ann Arbor, Michigan, said, “The city of San Antonio was a wonderful place to learn medicine both as a medical student and as an internal medicine resident. I was always and am still grateful for all the patients I met there,” she said. “I also learned about the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration at UT Health. Formally through a patient safety course, ‘Clinical Safety and Effectiveness[PPK4] ,’ led by Dr. Jan Patterson, an infectious diseases physician at UT Health. Also informally from all the fantastic nurses, respiratory care therapists, and my co-residents at both University Hospital and the Audie Murphy VA in San Antonio. I spent more time in those hospitals than my home for seven years, and I am thankful for what I learned from everyone I worked with in San Antonio. It is super special there,” she added.
Dr. Patel is an infectious diseases physician and an assistant professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Michigan[PPK5] and medical director of the Antimicrobial Stewardship at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. Her interests include infection prevention and antimicrobial stewardship implementation in the United States and globally.
She is recognized as an expert in international antimicrobial stewardship work and consults for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on global infection prevention and implementation of antimicrobial stewardship in international settings.
“I approach the field of antimicrobial resistance in a number of difference ways. At the hospital, I make sure people are using antibiotics optimally. I also mentor medical students, internal medicine residents and infectious diseases fellows in projects in antibiotic stewardship. I hope to pay it forward so the next generation will hopefully dedicate their work to this topic as well.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, the forefront on everyone’s mind was the viral pandemic, but for many years we have known that antibiotic resistance is an urgent issue as well,” she added.
Earlier this year Dr. Patel [PPK6] was invited to serve on the Presidential Advisory Council on Combatting Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria (PACCARB[PPK7] ) by the Secretary for Health and Human Services. The council provides advice, information and recommendations to the Secretary regarding programs and policies intended to support and evaluate the implementation of U.S. government activities related to combatting antibiotic-resistant bacteria. She will serve a four-year term.
“My wildest dream was to be able to serve on the PACCARB. These are international leaders in the fields of infectious disease and medicine who are charged with informing policy and to advise the White House on what we should be doing as a country to curb antimicrobial resistance. This honor has been a culmination of the things that make me passionate about medicine and infectious diseases,” Dr. Patel said.
Written by: Catherine Deyarmond
