Biography

Suraj Patel, M.D., Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Department Internal Medicine and the Center for Human Nutrition at UT Southwestern Medical Center, and a member of the Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases. His clinical interests include obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and alcohol-related liver disease.

Originally from New Jersey, Dr. Patel holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where he graduated magna cum laude. He then received master's and doctoral degrees in bioengineering and immunology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Medical School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, before pursuing his medical degree at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Dr. Patel then completed internal medicine residency training at UT Southwestern, before receiving advanced training through a fellowship program in gastroenterology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, while simultaneously conducting a research fellowship in endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). Afterward, he remained at BIDMC to become a member of the clinical faculty.

Dr. Patel joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2021. He is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Dr. Patel focuses his research on the metabolic causes and consequences of liver disease, and how the immune system influences liver metabolism. He combines conventional biological methods with novel transcriptomic and epigenomic techniques to develop therapies that limit organ dysfunction and improve patient health in metabolic disease. His investigations have resulted in numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals, and he has been invited to present his findings throughout the United States and around the world.

Dr. Patel is an active member of several professional organizations, including the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, American College of Gastroenterology, and the American Gastroenterology Association. He also serves as an ad hoc reviewer for numerous scientific journals, including Hepatology, Digestive Diseases and Sciences, Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology, Human Immunology, Tissue Engineering, Technology, The New England Journal of Medicine, and the Journal of Hepatology.

Education

Other Post Graduate Training
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2010)
Graduate School
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2010)
Medical School
Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (2014)
Internship
UT Southwestern Medical Center (2015)
Residency
UT Southwestern Medical Center (2016), Internal Medicine
Fellowship
Massachusetts General Hospital (2020), Gastroenterology

Research Interest

  • Alcohol-associated liver disease
  • Innate Immunity
  • Insulin Resistance
  • Metabolism
  • NAFLD
  • Obesity

Publications

Featured Publications LegendFeatured Publications

Substance use disorder is associated with alcohol-associated liver disease in patients with alcohol use disorder.
Vannier AGL, Fomin V, Chung RT, Patel SJ, Schaefer E, Goodman RP, Luther J, Gastro Hep Adv 2022 1 3 403-408
Serum HMGB1 associates with liver disease and predicts readmission and mortality in patients with alcohol use disorder.
Vannier AGL, Wardwell B, Fomin V, PeBenito A, Wolczynski N, Piaker S, Kedrin D, Chung RT, Schaefer E, Goodman R, Patel SJ, Luther J, Alcohol 2021 09 95 37-43
Hepatic connexin 32 associates with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease severity.
Luther J, Gala MK, Borren N, Masia R, Goodman RP, Moeller IH, DiGiacomo E, Ehrlich A, Warren A, Yarmush ML, Ananthakrishnan A, Corey K, Kaplan LM, Bhatia S, Chung RT, Patel SJ, Hepatol Commun 2018 Jul 2 7 786-797
Early liver transplantation for alcoholic hepatitis: Ready for primetime?
Kubiliun M, Patel SJ, Hur C, Dienstag JL, Luther J, J Hepatol 2018 03 68 3 380-382

Honors & Awards

  • Clinical Investigator Award
    NIH NIDDK K08 (2020)
  • Research Scholars Award in Liver Disease
    Gilead Sciences (2020)
  • AGA Research Scholars Award
    American Gastroenterology Association (2019)
  • Fellowship Award for Outstanding Research by a Junior Investigator
    MGH Tosteson (2019)
  • ACG Clinical Research Award
    American College of Gastroenterology (2018)
  • House Officer of Excellence Award
    UT Southwestern Medical Center (2015)
  • Golden Ticket Sponsorship Award
    Novartis Institute for BioMedical Research, Heprotech Inc. (2014)
  • Physician Scientist Training Program (PSTP) Award
    UT Southwestern Medical Center - Department of Internal Medicine (2014)
  • Small Business Innovation Research Grant Recipient
    NIH NIAAA R43, Heprotech Inc. (2014)
  • Small Business Innovation Research Grant Recipient
    NIH NIAAA R43, Heprotech Inc. (2013)
  • Junior Faculty Presidential Award
    Society of Leukocyte Biology (2011)
  • Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Award
    Shriners Hospital for Children (2011)
  • Medical Engineering and Medical Physics Fellowship Award
    Harvard-MIT Health, Science & Technology (2009)
  • Young Investigator Award
    International Endotoxin & Innate Immunity (2008)
  • Biomedical Graduate Fellowship Award
    Whitaker Foundation (2007)
  • Predoctoral Training Award
    Department of Defense CDMRP Prostate Cancer Research Program (2006)

Professional Associations/Affiliations

  • American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (2013)
  • American College of Gastroenterology (2016)
  • American Gastroenterology Association (2016)
  • Society of Leukocyte Biology (2011)