Amit Patel is an Indian American

Indian American

Indian Americans are Americans whose ancestral roots lie in India. The U.S. Census Bureau popularized the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Indigenous peoples of the Americas who are commonly referred to as American Indians.-The term: Indian:...

 cardiac surgeon

Cardiac surgeon

A cardiac surgeon is a surgeon who performs cardiac surgery—operative procedures on the heart and great vessels.-Training:A cardiac surgery residency typically comprises anywhere from six to nine years of training to become a fully qualified surgeon...

 and Director of Clinical Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering at the University of Utah

University of Utah

The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...

 though he is currently a student the University of Missouri- Kansas City School of Dentistry. He studied medicine at the Case Western Reserve University

Case Western Reserve University

Case Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...

. In 2002, he led a "breakthrough" study demonstrating that stem cell

Stem cell

This article is about the cell type. For the medical therapy, see Stem Cell TreatmentsStem cells are biological cells found in all multicellular organisms, that can divide and differentiate into diverse specialized cell types and can self-renew to produce more stem cells...

 transplantation could treat congestive heart failure

Congestive heart failure

Heart failure often called congestive heart failure is generally defined as the inability of the heart to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the needs of the body. Heart failure can cause a number of symptoms including shortness of breath, leg swelling, and exercise intolerance. The condition...

. He is currently the national lead investigator for Aastrom Biosciences to treat cardiomyopathy both ischemic and non-ischemic using adult stem cells in the U.S. He is also lead investigator for a number of trials to use adult stem cells to treat limb ischemia (inadequate blood flow to the leg). He has taught many surgeons around the world in countries such as Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

 and India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. Notable patients of his include Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

an singer Don Ho

Don Ho

Donald Tai Loy "Don" Ho was a Hawaiian and traditional pop musician, singer and entertainer.-Life and career:Ho, of Chinese, Hawaiian, Portuguese, Dutch, and German descent, was born in the small Honolulu neighborhood of Kakaako, but he grew up in Kāneohe on the windward side of the island of Oahu...

; Ho credited Patel's 2005 procedure on him with saving his life and allowing him to return to performing after being forced into retirement for health reasons. He is currently working on programs for Type 2 Diabetes, Burn Wound Therapies with the U.S. Military & Arteriocyte, Traumatic Brain Injury and Plastic resconstruction. He has started collaborative programs in Peru, Argentina, Ecuador, Germany, and India. His newest program is to treat heart failure patients with one day out patient cell therapies - Harvest.He has recently developed a stem cell spray for rapid healing of heart surgery and burns. http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2010/12/22/nr.spray.on.stem.cell.cnn?iref=allsearch