November 10, 2021

By Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science staff

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On October 18, 2021, the President’s Commission on White House Fellows announced the appointment of the 2021-2022 class of White House Fellows, the most diverse class in the history of the program. The prestigious White House Fellowship program embeds professionals from diverse backgrounds for a year of working as a full-time, paid fellow for White House staff, Cabinet Secretaries, and other senior government officials.

Sunny Patel, M.D., graduate of Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, has been appointed to the 2021-2022 class of White House Fellows. He will spend the next year working as a full-time, paid fellow placed at the United States Department of Homeland Security.

Dr. Patel is a graduate of Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science where he received his M.D. from Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine. 

Dr. Patel is a child and adolescent psychiatrist and a public health physician with interests in building equitable health systems that serve children and families. He recently completed his fellowship at NYU, where he created a model embedding mental health services in the pediatric oncology clinic. He also launched a comprehensive mental health response for thousands of frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and volunteered as a palliative care physician at Bellevue Hospital. 

Dr. Patel has spearheaded health interventions for vulnerable populations in the United States and abroad, including in India, Thailand, and Dominican Republic. He has spent the past decade working with refugee populations and has conducted forensic psychological examinations for asylum seekers with NYU and Physicians for Human Rights. Dr. Patel’s research has been published in numerous journals and informed policy initiatives, including work presented at the United Nations General Assembly.

Congratulations to Dr. Patel and the other selected fellows. Read more.