Dr. Patel completed a Masters in Health Systems Administration from Union University and attended Albany Medical College for her medical degree. She completed her internal medicine residency and Gastroenterology fellowship at the University of Colorado. She is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology. She was on faculty at the University of Michigan from 2013 to 2015 and joined the University of Colorado in 2015. Dr. Patel has an appointment as an Associate Professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. She is the Director of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Risk and Prevention Center at the Anschutz Medical Center where she cares for patients at high risk for cancer-based on their family history and genetics. Dr. Patel is also a Staff Physician at the Rocky Mountain Regional Veterans Affairs Hospital. Her clinical and research interests are in colorectal cancer prevention, identification and management of patients at high risk for colorectal cancer, and colonoscopy quality & training.

“I am the physician, researcher, teacher, and human I am today because of Dr. Dennis Ahnen. As a mentor, Dr. Ahnen selflessly elevated me by ushering me into his professional world. I have never met a more kind or generous person. He opened his heart and his family to everyone around him and has given me a vision of where I aspire to be. He had a unique ability to make everyone around him feel valued and important and brought out the best in everyone around him. He approached every situation with optimism and brightness, somehow without ever compromising his critical thinking and scholarly acumen.” –Swati Patel