Nirav Shah named secondin-command at CDC
NIRAV D SHAH, an Indian-origin epidemiologist, has been appointed Principal Deputy Director at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), making him the second-in-command at the national public health agency.
Shah, who is in his mid-forties, is currently the Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Shah will assume the new role, second in leadership under US CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, in March.
His appointment as Principal Deputy Director comes as part of a planned, broader overhaul of that agency announced by the US CDC Director in August of last year.
Shah previously served as president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials between March 2021 and September 2022.
Maine Governor Janet Mills in a statement said: ‘I take comfort, as Maine people should, in knowing that the US CDC – and the American people at large – will soon become the beneficiaries of his leadership. Dr. Shah, on behalf of the people of Maine, thank you from the bottom of my heart.’
Maine Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew appointed Director Shah to his current role as head of the Maine CDC in June of 2019, with the mission of rebuilding the agency and the State’s public health infrastructure.
‘When Director Shah first came to Maine, rebuilding the state’s public health agency appeared to be the biggest challenge he’d face,’ said Commissioner Lambrew. ‘Today, we look back with awe and appreciation at his ability to strengthen the Maine CDC while tackling the immense public health threat of COVID-19.’
Shah said: ‘While I’m sad to leave the Maine CDC, I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished. In my new role, I will be honored to serve not just Maine, but the entire nation and carry forward the good work that we have done here.’