Samir P. Patel, PhD
Connect
859-323-6477skpate2@uky.edu
Positions
- Assistant Professor
- Spinal Cord & Brain Injury Research Center (SCoBIRC), Department of Physiology
- Co-Director CNS-Met COBRE Core
College Unit(s)
Biography and Education
Biography
Samir Patel completed his B.Sc. in Zoology and M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biochemistry at The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, India. He moved to the University of Kentucky in 2006 for postdoctoral training at the Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center (SCoBIRC) and joined as faculty in 2023. Dr. Patel is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiology, a faculty member of SCoBIRC, and Co-Director of the NIH-funded CNS-Met COBRE Metabolomics Core. Dr. Patel has been actively involved in the neuroscience research community through service on NIH and Department of Defense review panels, leadership within the NINDS Neurotrauma Preclinical CDE Standards (NT-PRECEDS) Program, and extensive journal peer review. Dr. Patel's research focuses on mitochondrial dysfunction and metabolic alterations following spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury, with a particular emphasis on developing mitochondrial-based therapeutics, including mitochondrial transplantation and biomaterial-assisted delivery strategies, to improve neurological recovery. His research also focuses on developing clinically relevant models of sepsis following spinal cord injury to understand the short- and long-term complications of systemic infection and identify novel therapeutic approaches to improve recovery.
Education
B.Sc. in Zoology, The M. S. University of Baroda, Vadodara, India (1998)
M.Sc. in Biochemistry, The M. S. University of Baroda, Vadodara, India (2000)
Ph.D. in Biochemistry, The M. S. University of Baroda, Vadodara, India (2006)
Post-doc, SCoBIRC, Department of Physiology, University of Kentucky (2006–2011)
Research
Patel Lab investigates mitochondrial dysfunction as a therapeutic target after spinal cord injury by developing mitochondrial transplantation and mitochondrial-targeted pharmacological therapies to promote neuroprotection and improve neurological recovery. The laboratory also investigates the pathophysiology of post-injury sepsis and its short- and long-term consequences.
Current ongoing projects in the laboratory
- Mitochondrial transplantation and biomaterial-assisted delivery strategies for spinal cord injury.
- Development of mitochondrial-targeted therapeutics to promote neuroprotection and functional recovery.
- Preclinical models of sepsis following spinal cord injury to define the short- and long-term effects of systemic infection and identify novel therapeutic strategies.
- Immunometabolism of microglia and macrophages after spinal cord injury and aging.
- High-resolution metabolomics and bioenergetic profiling to identify biomarkers and therapeutic targets following central nervous system injury.