Rupa R. Patel, MD, MPH is an assistant professor of medicine within the Division of Infectious Diseases at Washington University in St. Louis. The director of the Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis for HIV Prevention (PrEP) Program, Dr. Patel has served as the director of the Global Health Program in Internal Medicine. She is a member of the PHR Asylum Network and has been conducting medical evaluations for asylum seekers since 2008.
Dr. Patel’s clinical, program, and research interests include developing health care access for marginalized populations (including HIV-infected, LGBTQ+, racial and ethnic minorities, IVDU, and sex workers) domestically and internationally. In the United States, she has been developing innovative ways to reduce financial barriers for preventive care for young adults at risk for HIV in states which did not expand Medicaid public health insurance. Dr. Patel is a member of the World Health Organization Technical Advisory Group for PrEP Implementation and serves as a clinical advisor for projects based in Africa and Asia. During her fellowship at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Dr. Patel established a global health education site, affiliated with Mount Sinai, with local organizations in Bangladesh for medical and public health trainees.
Dr. Patel travelled to Bangladesh with PHR in 2018 to conduct forensic medical examinations among Rohingya refugees, material which contributes to the evidence for crimes against humanity involving the Rohingyas.
Dr. Patel graduated from the University of Michigan and received her medical degree from Wayne State University. She completed her internal medicine residency at University of Texas Southwestern School of Medicine and an infectious diseases fellowship at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. She holds a Master in Public Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.