Dr. Patel is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of South Carolina Honors College, and he earned his medical degree from the Medical University of South Carolina with Alpha Omega Alpha. He was awarded the Julius Sagel Excellence in Internal Medicine Award in 2012. He subsequently moved to Vanderbilt to complete his residency and fellowship. During his internal medicine residency, he was awarded the Best Resident Teacher (Hugh Jackson Morgan Teaching Award) in 2014 and subsequently selected as Vanderbilt's chief fellow for his Gastroenterology fellowship. He was also awarded the Divya and Anil Patel Gastroenterology Fellowship Award in 2017 and the Richard Schneider Gastroenterology Fellowship Award in 2018.

His clinical focus is on esophageal disorders with research focused on achalasia, esophageal motility disorders, GERD and extra-esophageal reflux. He has also been involved in the development of novel diagnostic tools that reduce diagnostic latency and can monitor therapy response in patients with esophageal disorders. He has over 40 peer reviewed publications and is also the editor for two books (Obesity and Esophageal Disorders, 1st edition, 2022 and Evaluation and Management of Dysphagia: An Evidence Based Approach, 1st edition, 2020). He serves as the chair for the communications committee for the International Society for Diseases of the Esophagus. He has been invited to give lectures at multiple national and international venues due to his expertise in esophageal disorders and serves on editorial boards for two of the highest impact journals in our field, Gastroenterology and Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.