Salma I. Patel, MD, MPH

  • Medical Director, Physician Assistant Program
  • Associate Program Director, Sleep Medicine Fellowship
  • Core Faculty, Internal Medicine Residency Program
  • Clinical Reasoning Course Facilitator, College of Medicine
  • Chair, Graduate Medical Education Subcommittee for Research
  • Vice Chair, College of Medicine Admissions Committee

Dr. Salma Patel is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Sleep Medicine.  She received her Doctor of Medicine and Masters in Public Health degrees from the University of Arizona. She completed her Internal Medicine residency and Sleep Medicine Fellowship at the Mayo Clinic. Dr. Patel enjoys seeing patients and strongly ascribes to Dr. William Mayo’s philosophy “The best interest of the patient is the only interest to be considered” and is often caught repeating this quote at patients’ bedsides. She is an active educator and mentor for undergraduate students, graduate students, post-doctoral students, medical students, residents and fellows.

Dr. Patel believes strongly in interprofessional collaboration in healthcare and serves as the Medical Director for the Physician Assistant Program at the University of Arizona. She also serves as the Associate Program Director for the Sleep Medicine Fellowship and Core Faculty for the Internal Medicine Residency Program. She serves on several college committees at the University.  Nationally, Dr. Patel writes board examination questions for the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) for Maintenance of Certification and Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment Examinations for physicians seeking certification. She has also been involved with writing clinical guidelines for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM).

Most of Dr. Patel’s contributions to science are in the area of Sleep Medicine, Cardiology, and Vascular Medicine. She studies cardiorespiratory interactions in obstructive sleep apnea. She enjoys collaborating with and supporting colleagues with their research as well. Her work is supported by grants from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, and the University of Arizona Health Sciences. She gives numerous local and national presentations and has multiple publications in her area of expertise.

Research Interests: 

Dr. Salma Patel has been a principal investigator and co-investigator on several grants. She has successfully collaborated with other researchers and published peer-reviewed original and review articles from many projects. She has given numerous local and national presentations. Having experienced many hurdles in medicine to do research, Dr. Patel is passionate about supporting our residents and fellows to support their research and career development to enable them to meet their academic goals. Please feel free to reach out to Dr. Patel to see how she can support your research salmapatel@arizona.edu

Degrees
  • MD: University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson, 2013
  • MPH: Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, 2013
  • BA: Nursing, Luther College, Decorah, IA, 2005
Honors and Awards
  • Excellence in Clinical Science Award for Teaching of Medical Students and/or Residents, Academy of Medical Education Scholars (AMES), University of Arizona, 2023
  • Fellow, American Academy of Sleep Medicine, 2023
  • Fellow, American College of Physicians, 2020
  • PRIDE Scholar, National Institute of Health, 2019
  • Young Investigator Research Forum Award, American Academy of Sleep Medicine, 2017
  • Patient Advocate Award, Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, 2016
  • Service Award, Mayo Clinic, 2011
  • Florence Nightingale Award, Luther College, Decorah, IA, 2005
  • Black Student Union Award, Luther College, Decorah, IA, 2004
  • Award of Excellence, The Jane Goodall Institute, Roots & Shoots, Washington, DC, 2001
Residency
  • Internal Medicine: Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Scottsdale, AZ, 2016
Fellowship
  • Sleep Medicine Fellowship (adult and pediatric), Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, 2017
Board Certifications
  • American Board of Sleep Medicine, 2017
  • American Board of Internal Medicine, 2016