Axi R. Patel, MD · MPH · FACR
Serious expertise, made human.
Rheumatologist and entrepreneur, working in service of community.
One person, three worlds, and a single purpose.
Axi Patel is a rheumatologist and entrepreneur whose work lives where medicine, business, and community meet.
As a physician, she studies how autoimmune disease affects the heart, and translates dense science into clear, trustworthy guidance for the people who need it most. As co-founder of Raas, she has helped bring South Asian design into the American mainstream while championing the artisans behind it.
The thread through all of it is the same: using every platform she has to strengthen the communities she comes from.
The credibility of a physician. The clarity of a teacher.
-
Medical School
Doctor of Medicine
MD, Pramukhswami Medical College. The foundation of a clinical career.
-
Residency
Internal Medicine
Board-certified in Internal Medicine, with a Master of Public Health (MPH) sharpening a population-level view of disease.
-
Fellowship · 2025
Rheumatology, University of Illinois Chicago
Completed her rheumatology fellowship at UIC. Board-certified in Rheumatology; Fellow of the American College of Rheumatology (FACR).
-
Practice
UI Health and John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital
Caring for patients across Chicago's public and academic health systems.
Cardiovascular health in patients with autoimmune disease. The throughline of her published work.
Autoimmune disease, made make‑sense.
She started making short-form videos because there was too little evidence-based information, and too much misinformation. The goal: spread awareness in a friendly, approachable way, and simplify the complexity of medications and conditions so anyone can understand.
Bringing South Asian design into the American mainstream.
Raas began in 2018 with her mother, Shreya Patel, and a belief that South Asian fashion belonged everywhere. Axi joined in 2020 and built out the brand's Western line.
Today Raas is carried across major US retailers, from Nordstrom to Macy's to Target, one of the first South Asian brands to reach that scale. Its mission runs both ways: making the clothing mainstream in the US while uplifting the artisans who make it in India.
The science behind the throughline.
-
JCR: Journal of Clinical Rheumatology · 2022
Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis Hospitalizations in Adults and Its Association With Rheumatologic Diseases First author
-
Circulation · 2021
Risk of Venous Thromboembolism in Autoimmune Connective Tissue Diseases: A Population-Based Retrospective Study
-
Clinical Rheumatology · 2023
Nationwide analysis of adult hospitalizations with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis and systemic lupus erythematosus
-
American Heart Journal Plus · 2022
Does the "July effect" of new trainees at teaching hospitals impact outcomes for patients hospitalized with heart failure?
-
Cureus · 2021
The co-existence of rheumatoid arthritis and granulomatosis with polyangiitis: two cases and a review of the literature
Where autoimmune disease meets the cardiovascular system. How chronic inflammation shapes the heart, and what it means for patients.
Let's build something in service of community.
For collaborations, speaking, press, or a hello, this is the front door.