Prerak D. Shah, MD, FACS

There are very few medical students who can claim that they were born in the same hospital that they would eventually become a physician in. A true native Gator, Dr. Shah was born at Shands Hospital in Gainesville, Florida. Motivated by the path of his older sister Bijal, he completed his undergraduate and medical school training at the University of Florida through the Junior Honors Medical Program. He started his post-graduate training as a Pediatric Resident at Children’s Memorial Hospital at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois. During this time, he was introduced to the Otolaryngologist-in-Chief of the hospital, Dr. Lauren Holinger, who inspired him to change career paths to Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery. He subsequently matched at the Otolaryngology Residency Program at Tufts Medical Center in Boston which he completed in 2003.

Dr. Shah has been practicing Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery at New England Ear, Nose, Throat & Facial Plastic Surgery in North Andover, Massachusetts. He has developed a focus and expertise on the management of head & neck cancers and thyroid/parathyroid surgical patients. Dr. Shah has established a unique balance between his community Otolaryngology practice and his affiliation with an academic teaching hospital. Since 2011, he has been a member of the medical staff at the Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary and a Clinical Instructor in Otology & Laryngology at Harvard Medical School. He has presented at various regional and national meetings on thyroid and parathyroid surgical management and is currently a member of the Endocrine Surgery Committee for the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck. He has been Chairman of the Thyroid & Parathyroid Committee at Lawrence General Hospital and Steward Holy Family Hospital since 2012. He also carries a dual board certification in Otolaryngology and Sleep Medicine.

His administrative activities include serving on the Board of Directors for the Massachusetts Society of Otolaryngology and General Manager and Medical Director of FYZICAL Dizziness and Fall Prevention Center in North Andover, Massachusetts. He was the former Chief of Surgery and Operating Room Committee Chair of Steward Holy Family Hospital and former Executive Committee member at Steward Holy Family Hospital. He was also on the Board of Directors for the Merrimack Valley Independent Physicians Association and member of the OR Governance Committee at Lawrence General Hospital. He has a passion for photography as an active member of the Merrimack Valley Camera Club and was honored to have one of his photographs selected in 2014 for exhibition at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC. His other interests include skiing, traveling with his family, mountain biking and watching Florida Gator sports. His wife Salina and their three boys live in Andover, Massachusetts. His eldest son will continue the legacy of three generations of Florida Gators as he enters the Class of 2021 at the University of Florida. “The Junior Honors Medical Program was an essential foundation for my professional life as a physician. What is often labeled a “transition” year was so much more. In between participating in journal clubs and learning evidence-based methodologies to interacting with multiple research and clinical faculty members, the JHMP fostered an enriching experience for all twelve students in a very intimate and effective setting. It was clearly a transformational experience that proved valuable through all levels of my training as well as into my professional life as a physician.”