An accomplished Illinois senior administrator with a wealth of experience in the medical and legal arenas, Dr. Nirav Shah holds juris doctor from the University of Chicago Law School and a doctor of medicine from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. Dr. Nirav Shah also completed cost-effectiveness analysis and mathematical modeling studies as graduate student in economics at Oxford University.

Over the course of his career, Dr. Shah has served tenures as chief economist with the National Institute for Public Health in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and senior associate with the Global Life Sciences Group of Sidley Austin, LLP, in Chicago.

Appointed as director of the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) by Governor Bruce Rauner in January of 2015, Dr. Shah remained in that position until Mr. Rauner’s departure in February of 2019. While leading the IDPH, he spearheaded comprehensive initiatives to combat opioid addiction, childhood lead poisoning, and maternal mortality.

He currently serves as the Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, a position he has held since June 2019.