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Dr. Anup Patel '95 Finds the Right Place

Dr. Patel is Drawn by 鈥渞eally the fascination鈥 of the human brain鈥檚 complexities

A conversation with Dr. Anup Patel is like time spent with a kaleidoscope: Each insight seems bright, hopeful and interesting, and each turn adds a level of complexity all the more pleasing because of its striking clarity.

An associate professor of clinical pediatrics and neurology at The Ohio State University, Patel practices at Nationwide Children鈥檚 in Columbus, Ohio, where his titles hint at the depth and breadth of his work. He is associate medical director of the children鈥檚 accountable care organization, Partners for Kids; director of quality improvement for neurology; and clinical director of the complex epilepsy clinic.

Drawn by 鈥渞eally the fascination鈥 of the human brain鈥檚 complexities and how medicines and treatments interact with it, Patel found that his preference for pediatrics neurology was driven by a natural affinity for the material and the capacity to be able to witness a child鈥檚 epileptic seizure without being traumatized.

Because childhood epilepsy requires continued and constant care, it has allowed Patel to enjoy the pleasure of 鈥済reat relationships鈥 with patients and their families. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 where it pulls at the heartstrings, because it not only disrupts the life of the child, it disrupts the whole family,鈥 he said.

Moreover, because a full third of his patients can鈥檛 effectively be treated, he says a much broader question arises: What can be done in the meantime?

That leads to other questions: How can doctors help parents so overwhelmed with anxiety they can鈥檛 sleep? How can parents respond to a brother who hates his sister because her epilepsy makes her the focus of family attention? And which of the myriad problems trigger emergency room visits that unnecessarily exhaust families, physicians and health care resources?

Patel tracks kindred issues in Partners for Kids research on the best use of expensive pharmaceuticals used in pediatric neurology, generating knowledge he hopes will benefit a wider range of patients he could possibly see.

He calls 鈥渢he rising strength of parent support groups鈥 a major advance in the fields -- one that has opened the medical community to change, empowered families to educate one another, and kept the focus on the pediatric patient.

Patel connects his privilege to work with 鈥渢he great passionate people driven to fix these diseases鈥 鈥 and the ability to think as broadly as his work requires him to think -- to his Wittenberg education.

鈥淚 personally would not have been successful in a large university setting. As soon as I got to Wittenberg, I knew (it was right).鈥

Twenty years after leaving campus, one legacy of his Wittenberg success has been the ability to feel just as much at home while succeeding both at one of the largest pediatric health care and research centers in the nation.

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Wittenberg's curriculum has centered on the liberal arts as an education that develops the individual's capacity to think, read, and communicate with precision, understanding, and imagination. We are dedicated to active, engaged learning in the core disciplines of the arts and sciences and in pre-professional education grounded in the liberal arts. Known for the quality of our faculty and their teaching, Wittenberg has more Ohio Professors of the Year than any four-year institution in the state. The university has also been recognized nationally for excellence in community service, sustainability, and intercollegiate athletics. Located among the beautiful rolling hills and hollows of Springfield, Ohio, Wittenberg offers more than 100 majors, minors and special programs, enviable student-faculty research opportunities, a unique student success center, service and study options close to home and abroad, a stellar athletics tradition, and successful career preparation.

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