P.D. Soros Fellowship for New Americans

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Nirav Shah, 2005

Principal Deputy Director, Centers for Disease Control

Nirav Shah is the child of immigrants from India

Fellowship awarded to support work towards an MD in Medicine at University of Chicago

NIRAV SHAH is the Principal Deputy Director of the Centers for Disease Control. Previously, he served as Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as the Director of the Illinois Department of Health.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Shah served as the Chief Economist of the Ministry of Health of Cambodia, during his tenure as a Henry Luce Scholar. In Cambodia, he worked on a variety of public health programs aimed at reducing corruption in the health care system. In particular, he designed a system that reduced the number of administrative steps required to transfer funds from the central Ministry to rural hospitals, thereby reducing opportunities for corruption and graft. Dr. Shah completed both his medical and law degrees at University of Chicago. After graduating from college, he studied economics at Oxford University. 

Education
  • MD Medicine | University of Chicago 2008
  • JD Law | University of Chicago 2007
  • BS Biology and Psychology | University of Louisville 1999
Work History
  • Centers for Disease Control, Principal Deputy Director
  • Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Director | May 2019
  • Illinois Department of Health, Director
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