Research
Hemal Patel is a Co-Investigator on the UCSD REACH Center, and also one of our amazing faculty members. He is a Veterans Administration (VA) Research Career Scientist whose expertise lies at the intersection of caveolin and mitochondrial biology. Over the course of his career, he has applied this foundational science to the study of cardiovascular disease, neurodegeneration, aging, diabetes, and cancer — and in recent years, has expanded his work to include direct collaboration with clinical groups, bringing rigorous basic science methods into translational research contexts.
Dr. Patel is funded by the NIH, the Department of Defense, Veterans Affairs, and other agencies. He serves on editorial boards for scientific journals and reviews grants for major funding bodies including the NIH and NASA. With more than 140 publications and a regular presence at international conferences, he is a highly active contributor to the broader scientific community.
Most recently, Dr. Patel has been leading efforts to accelerate research on meditation in collaboration with the InnerScience Research Fund, a nonprofit dedicated to funding studies on the biological and physical effects of meditation on the human body. This work brings together his deep scientific expertise and his personal commitment to understanding whole-person health.