An Indian-American doctor, Nirav D. Shah, has been appointed as the principal deputy director at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Doctor Nirav D. Shah, an Indian-American who played a vital role during the COVID-19 pandemic, has been named the Principal Deputy Director at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC).

Shah, 45, the director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC), will take over for US CDC Director Rochelle Walensky in March. In a statement, Shan mentioned that in his new role, he will be honored to serve not just Maine but the entire nation and carry forward the good work that they have done there. He also expressed his gratitude towards the Maine people by adding that he thanked them for taking care of him, as he has always asked them to take care of each other. Shah was appointed to the Maine CDC in 2019 to rebuild the agency and the state’s public health infrastructure.

Dr Shah has been a trusted advisor and an extraordinary leader of the Maine CDC. More than that, he was a trusted advisor and leader to the people of Maine during one of the country's worst public health crises. Shah spoke calmly and directly to the Maine people, many of whom were scared and uncertain, and answered their questions with compassion, empathy, humor, and clarity.

Shah's nomination to the position of principal deputy director coincides with a broader, planned revamp of that agency, announced by the US CDC director in August last year.

Born to Indian immigrants, Shah was raised in Wisconsin and majored in psychology and biology at the University of Louisville. In 2000, he enrolled in the University of Chicago's medical program after completing his economics degree at Oxford University. Shah received the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans and graduated from the University of Chicago with his Juris Doctor in 2007 and his Doctor of Medicine in 2008.