2023 Ashbel Smith Distinguished Alumni (ASDA) Award Recipient
This is the highest alumni honor bestowed to a medical school graduate by the university's John Sealy School of Medicine Alumni Association. This award, recognizing outstanding service to the medical profession and to humanity, honors the memory of Dr. Ashbel Smith. A prominent figure in Texas medicine, politics and education, Dr. Smith was considered the driving force behind establishing the University of Texas at Austin in 1881, and a medical department that would later be known as the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston in 1891.
About Dr. Patel
Dr. Shilpen Patel has dedicated his life to his patients and the community as a radiation oncologist, researcher, and
community leader. He currently practices at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Gatos, CA, and leads global medical affairs
for the oncology franchise as an Executive Medical Director at Gilead Sciences, based in Foster City, CA. In addition, he
has
an affiliate appointment as an Associate Professor at the University of
Washington Department of Global Health as well as an affiliate
appointment in the Division of Public Health at the Fred Hutchinson
Cancer Research Center. He recently completed his Medical Justice
Advocacy Fellowship at the Satcher Health Leadership Institute and the
American Medical Association (AMA).
A Texan at heart, Dr. Patel attended the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science and started his undergraduate
degree at the age of 16. He majored in biology and political science at Houston Baptist University, where he graduated
Summa Cum Laude in 1997. He then pursued his medical degree at the University of Texas Medical Branch where he
served as Vice President of the Class of 2001 and as Section 3 Chair for the American Medical Associate/Texas Medical
Association. He was also an NIH Tropical Medicine Scholar, focused on vaccine development research in Peru, and
coordinated
earthquake relief in Asia which was highlighted in Texas Medicine. Dr.
Patel went on to do his residency at the Greenebaum Cancer
Center/University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, MD, and then
joined the faculty at the University of Washington.
As a leader in radiation oncology, Dr. Patel became the youngest fellow in the history of both the American College
of
Radiation Oncology and the American Society for Radiation Oncology. He
served as an oral and written examiner for the American Board of
Radiology (ABR), served on the Board of Councilors at the American
College of Radiation Oncology, and has served in various capacities at
the American Society for Radiation Oncology. His appointments have
included leadership in government and congressional relations, the
education committee, the maintenance of certification, and the
radiobiology council.
Dr. Patel is passionate about his community and has been an active member of the American Medical Association, serving as Chair of the Young Physician Section and of the LGBTQ Advisory Committee. As a faculty member of the University of Washington, he served as faculty advisor to Qmed and as Director of the Health Disparities Pathway for medical students. He was also previously the Director of the Clinical Outcomes Assessment Program for the Foundation for Health Care Quality for the State of Washington. Additionally, he has also served as either a board member or board chair of Equal Rights Washington, the National LGBTQ Task Force, Generations Aging with Pride, the Horizons Foundation, Phi Chi Medical Foundation, Radiating Hope, and RAD-AID.
Dr. Patel’s continued involvement in the community has garnered him numerous accolades, including more recently
the board IQ Hall of Fame, Out and Equal Corporate Advocate Award, and the Yahoo Outstanding Leader Role Model. As
an educator and mentor, he has also been awarded the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science Distinguished
Alumni. Dr. Patel has also received numerous awards from the American Medical Association and has been identified as
an Outstanding Doctor in both the Seattle Metropolitan and Seattle Magazine.