Rate My Professor Sangita Patel

Sangita Patel, MD, PhD, serves as Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo, a position she has held since 2019, and as Director of the Cornea/Anterior Segment Service since 2020. Her academic journey began with a BA in Biology, earned magna cum laude from New York University in 1997. She then obtained her MD and PhD in Physiology, both cum laude, from the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in 2004. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at the University at Buffalo, she completed an internship in Internal Medicine at Winthrop University Hospital in 2005, a residency in Ophthalmology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in 2008, and a fellowship in Cornea, Refractive Surgery, and External Diseases at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, in 2009. At UB, her career includes prior roles as Clinical Assistant Professor (2015–2019), Assistant Professor (2013–2014), Research Assistant Professor (2010–2013), and Clinical Instructor (2009–2010). She provides ophthalmologic care at the Veterans Health Administration Western New York Health Care System since 2016, as well as Erie County Medical Center, Kaleida Health, and Millard Fillmore Ambulatory Surgery Center since 2009.

A specialist in cornea and external eye disease, Dr. Patel delivers medical and surgical treatments including corneal transplantation, cataract surgery, and artificial cornea transplantation. Her research investigates corneal endothelial physiology, injuries, and diseases like Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD), with emphasis on sex differences, estradiol's roles, and risk factors identified through clinical epidemiology and molecular techniques. Notable publications include "Associations between measures of oestrogen exposure and severity of Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy" (BMJ Open Ophthalmology, 2025, co-authored with Petrela et al.), "Anthropometric Measures and Fuchs' Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy" (Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 2025, Yue et al.), "Selective effects of estradiol on human corneal endothelial cells" (Scientific Reports, 2023), "The soil and the seed: The relationship between Descemet's membrane and the corneal endothelium" (Experimental Eye Research, 2023), and others. She has garnered awards such as Silver Fellow (2025), Council of Vision Editors Fellow (2024), Alcon Research Institute Young Investigator Award (2012), Buswell Fellowship (2010–2013), and Alpha Omega Alpha (2003). As principal investigator, she leads grants including a five-year $1.8 million NIH National Eye Institute R01 (2024) on corneal endothelium-extracellular matrix interactions in FECD, a Department of Veterans Affairs grant ($543,160, 2023–2027) on endothelial injuries, and an NIH K08 award ($854,900, 2018–2024).