Interview: Dr Mumtaz Patel

Professor Mumtaz Patel

RCP president (senior censor and vice president for education and training)

Professor Mumtaz Patel is president of the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), a consultant nephrologist at Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and honorary professor at both the University of Liverpool and the University of Manchester. 

Mumtaz was elected as president in April 2025 and is the first woman of South Asian heritage to lead the RCP in our 500-year history. 

She studied medicine at the University of Manchester, qualifying in 1996, and completed her PhD in the genetics of lupus nephritis in 2006. She became a consultant in 2007 and completed her master’s in medical education in 2014 and since then has developed a national reputation in postgraduate education, assessment and training. 

Mumtaz has held a range of senior roles, including RCP senior censor and vice president for education and training (VPET), and RCP Global vice president. As VPET, she led the development of a new education strategy, and during her tenure as Global VP, she expanded international engagement and launched the RCP Global Women Leaders Programme. 

She previously served as postgraduate associate dean for NHS England (Northwest) and is director for conduct and progress at the University of Liverpool’s School of Medicine. Mumtaz acted as RCP president from mid-2024 before her formal election in 2025.