Vijay A. Patel attended the University of California, Los Angeles for his undergraduate degree in microbiology, immunology, and molecular genetics with honors collegium. He went on to complete medical school at Penn State College of Medicine and continued his professional education by performing his surgical training in otolaryngology—head and neck surgery at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. After residency, he completed a one-year fellowship in rhinology and cranial base surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center followed by a one-year fellowship in complex pediatric otolaryngology at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. He is currently on staff at Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego as the only dual-fellowship trained rhinologist and pediatric otolaryngologist on the West Coast. In addition to caring for all children with pediatric ear, nose, and throat disorders and conditions as a pediatric otolaryngologist, Dr. Patel's specific clinical and research interests include skull base surgery, cystic fibrosis, primary ciliary dyskinesia, congenital nasal anomalies, rhinosinusitis, sinonasal disorders, nasal airway obstruction, lymphovascular anomalies, surgical outcomes, cost analysis, and quality improvement metrics in surgery. He has over 70 peer-reviewed publications and more than 50 regional/national presentations in otolaryngology and is active across several professional expert networks worldwide.