She serves as a co-investigator on the Rush Mothers’ Milk Club NIH grant, and as the principal investigator on a collaborative study, “The Impact of Early Enteral Feed Type on Initial Gut Microflora and Sepsis in Very Low Birth Weight Premature Infants” which seeks to determine the relationship between dose and exposure period of human milk feedings and initial gut colonization and health outcomes in VLBW infants. Dr. Patel has served as the principal investigator on 4 internally and externally funded studies related to human milk feedings, growth velocity and morbidities in VLBW infants. She has disseminated her research through numerous publications and presentations.