Dr Patel is Associate Professor of Medicine at the Feinberg School of Medicine of Northwestern University. She specializes in the treatment of lung cancer. In addition to developing novel therapies for lung cancer, she has a special interest in lung cancer in women and the interplay of genetic, hormonal, and molecular differences that contribute to differences in outcome in women. She graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in English Literature and received her MD from Indiana University. She then completed residency at Northwestern University, where she also served as Chief Medical Resident. She completed medical oncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. In 2003 she returned to Northwestern, and Dr Patel now serves as the Thoracic Oncology Program Leader of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. She has authored numerous publications and has served as the principal investigator of multiple clinical trials. She is Co-Chair of the Thoracic Committee of the Hoosier Oncology Group. She has is a member of the core committee of the Thoracic Committee of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group. She is a member of the NCCN Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer and Small Cell Lung Cancer Panels. She has served on the Scientific Program Committees of ASCO and IASLC. She was awarded the Early Career Achievement Award from Indiana University School of Medicine. She was also part of ASCO’s prestigious Leadership Development Program.