Vivek Ravindra Patel

Biography

Vivek Ravindra Patel, M.D., FRCSC, is Vice Chair of Academic Affairs, Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology, and Chief of Neuro-Ophthalmology and Adult Strabismus at the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, University of California, Irvine. He also serves as Director of the Neuro-Ophthalmology and Adult Strabismus Fellowship and Co-Director of the Neuro-Ophthalmology, Adult Strabismus, and Orbital Surgery International Fellowship. Patel received his M.D. from the University of Saskatchewan, completed his ophthalmology residency at McGill University, and completed a fellowship in neuro-ophthalmology at the University of Southern California's Doheny Eye Institute. He is board certified by both the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada and the American Board of Ophthalmology, serving as an examiner for the latter.

Patel has held faculty positions at multiple institutions, including the University of Wisconsin, University of Ottawa, Johns Hopkins University's Wilmer Eye Institute, and the University of Southern California, where he served as Director of Education and Residency Program Director. He is Associate Editor of the Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology and serves as Vice Chair of Informatics for the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society. He also chairs the Neuro-Ophthalmology Section of the American Academy of Ophthalmology's ONE Network Global Education Platform and serves on the American Board of Ophthalmology's Question Writing Committee as Chair. Patel has received the Teacher of the Year award seven times across different institutions, including the Dean's Faculty Teaching Award at the Keck School of Medicine.

Patel's research focuses on advanced neuroimaging applications in neuro-ophthalmology, particularly structure-function correlations in visual pathway disorders. He served as Principal Investigator on an NIH-funded study examining human connectomes in low vision, blindness, and sight restoration using high-resolution MRI tractography and functional MRI. He has authored over 45 peer-reviewed publications and contributed chapters to multiple textbooks, including serving as co-author and co-editor of Walsh and Hoyt's Clinical Neuro-Ophthalmology: The Essentials. His clinical practice emphasizes complex adult strabismus surgery, optic nerve sheath fenestrations, and management of neuro-ophthalmic disorders.

Education

• B.Sc. in Anatomy/Physiology, University of Saskatchewan, 1996
• M.D., University of Saskatchewan, College of Medicine, 2001
• FRCSC in Ophthalmology, McGill University, Department of Ophthalmology, 2006

Distinctions

• Achievement Award, American Academy of Ophthalmology, 2016, 2022
• Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada (FRCSC), 2006
• Diplomat of American Board of Ophthalmology (Dip. ABO), 2008
• Southern California Super Doctors®, 2022-2023
• Top Patient Experience Scores in 2022, UCI medical center, 2023
• Dean's Faculty Teaching Award, Keck School of Medicine, 2018
• Teacher of the Year Award, USC Roski Eye Institute, 2015-2017, 2019
• Dr. Ali H. Rajput Prize for Excellence in Neurology, University of Saskatchewan, 2001
• Faculty Teaching Award, LAC + USC Medical Center, 2016
• Teacher of the Year Award, University of Ottawa Eye Institute, 2009