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Premal Gautam Patel, M.D., MSc, FACP, AAHIVS

Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Long School of Medicine

Program Director of MD/MPH Program and Professor, Department of Health Policy and Health Services Administration, UT School of Public Health San Antonio

Co- Director, UTHSA- AIDS Education Training Center Practice Transformation Co-Lead, South Central AIDS Education Training Center

Dr. Premal Patel joins the University of Texas Health San Antonio as a Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, and Program Director of the MD/MPH Program at the new University of Texas School of Public Health San Antonio. She earned an M.D. degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), during which time she earned a Master of Science (MSc) in Human Rights from the London School of Economics. Following her Residency in Internal Medicine at Brown University, she moved to Gaborone, Botswana, to serve as an internist in the Pediatric AIDS Corps through the Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative and Baylor College of Medicine, where she focused on capacity building for clinical care of people living with HIV.

She was subsequently recruited to UTMB, where, over the past 13 years, she has served as a leader in clinical and public health education. She has received grant funding to support both clinical and educational efforts that actively engage learners of all professions in both international and domestic community health initiatives to address health inequities. Her scholarly work has earned her a regional and national reputation as an expert in the integration of public and community health content into the medical curriculum.

Dr. Patel also served as the MD/MPH Program Director at the UTMB School of Public and Population Health (SPPH), which successfully received accreditation from the Council on Education for Public Health in 2023. In this position, she has successfully navigated the operational and curricular challenges of implementing a 4-year dual-degree program and has mentored successive cohorts of MD/MPH students. Dr. Patel’s work in curriculum development, individual teaching, educational scholarship, clinical care, and student mentorship have resulted in numerous awards and honors. She was selected as UTMB’s Faculty Osler Scholar in the John P. McGovern Academy of Oslerian Medicine and has been inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha, Academy of Master Teachers, Academy of Master Clinicians, American Osler Society and Delta Nu Chapter of the Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health.

Dr. Patel’s public health practice work has focused on designing and implementing collaborative HIV prevention, care, and support programs. In her role as UTMB’s Clinical Director of UTMB’s AIDS Education Training Center (AETC) and Practice Transformation Co-Lead for the South Central AETC, she has partnered with federally qualified health centers and other care systems to help transform their practices to accommodate the needs of people at risk for or living with HIV. She will continue her efforts at UTHSA-AETC as Co-Clinical Director.

Dr. Patel maintains an active clinical practice providing primary care for people living with HIV as well as attending the hospital teaching service.