ALUMNUS OF THE YEAR: Anand Shah, MD ’98

For anyone who knew Anand Shah, MD ’98 as a Country Day student— when he founded several organizations, received top academic honors, and landed prestigious summer internships at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) —it’s no surprise that today, he is a nationally recognized physician leader and policy expert. His extensive influence extends to the senior-most levels of the U.S. government, industry, academia, and as an oncologist. As the deputy commissioner for medical and scientific affairs at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Anand was responsible for developing and leading high-priority FDA policy initiatives such as the FDA’s pandemic preparedness and recovery efforts. Today, Anand serves as the chief executive officer of Aster Insights, the leading provider of scientific and clinical intelligence for oncology discovery. He is also an operating advisor to global private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, where he focuses on the healthcare and pharmaceutical services sectors.

Prior senior leadership roles include leading critical patient-based initiatives at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Anand specializes in the early detection, surveillance, and treatment of prostate cancer and previously developed and led a survivorship clinic for patients in cancer clinical trials at the NIH. He is an adjunct professor of medical ethics and health policy and an adjunct senior fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, both at the University of Pennsylvania.

After Country Day, Anand graduated from Duke University with a degree in economics. A Canada-U.S. Fulbright Scholar, he concurrently earned his MD from the University of Pennsylvania and an MPH in health care management and policy from the Harvard School of Public Health. Anand served as chief resident during his radiation oncology residency at Columbia University.

“He had a passion in the beginning for medicine, but then his mind shifted to ‘how many people can I help, how can I maximize my impact on the world,’” said Drew Witman ’06, director of Alumni Relations. “To have him back and to share his story with our community is incredible because we’re trying to prepare the next generation of Anands to go out and make the world better.”