Amit Patel
Amit Nilkanth Patel MD, BS, MS is an Indian-American cardiac surgeon and former director of clinical regenerative medicine and tissue engineering at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. He was a tenured professor of surgery-cardiothoracic at the University of Utah until December 2016. Early life and career Patel studied medicine at Case Western Reserve University. In 2002, he led a "breakthrough" study demonstrating that stem cell transplantation could treat congestive heart failure. He is currently the national lead investigator for Aastrom Biosciences, now Vericel Corp, to treat both ischemic and non-ischemic cardiomyopathy by using adult stem cells. He just completed and published the largest heart failure trial for cell therapy in patients with ischemic heart failure. The trial was published in the journal Lancet and demonstrated a 37% reduction in death and hospitalizations for patients with severe heart failure. He is also the lead investigator for several trials to use adult stem cells to treat limb ischemia (inadequate blood flow to the leg). He has taught many surgeons around the world in countries such as Thailand and India. Notable patients of his include Hawaiian singer Don Ho; Ho credited Patel's 2005 procedure on him with saving his life