The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia (USG) has elected Indian American primary care physician Deep J. Shah, currently a Regent, to a one-year term as the Board’s vice chair.
Shah, who joined the Board in 2024 as an at-large member, will serve as vice chair from Jan. 1, 2026, to Dec. 31, 2026, according to a university release.
Current Vice Chair David B. Dove who represents Georgia’s 11th congressional district, was elected chair. He too will serve for the same period.
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Shah is the chief operating officer at Gwinnett Clinic, northeast Atlanta’s leading independent multi-specialty group, which champions patient-centered, physician-led care.
“It’s a privilege to serve on the Board and give back to a state that’s given me so much,” Shah said. “I’m excited to step into this new role alongside Chair-elect Dove and help strengthen Georgia’s workforce and communities through the power of higher education.”
Shah graduated with highest honors from the University of Georgia as a Foundation Fellow and won Truman and Rhodes scholarships to study at Oxford University, where he earned a master’s degree in social policy.
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He earned his medical degree from Harvard University and trained in internal medicine at Emory University before entering private practice.
Shah has been named a Top Doctor by both Georgia Trend and Castle Connolly. He has expertise in healthcare operations and health finance, and his recent work has focused on contract negotiation for independent medical groups, efficient utilization of health IT and medical real estate.
In addition to Shah’s work at Gwinnett Clinic, he advocates for patients and community-based primary care at the state and federal levels.
He has won multiple leadership awards, including an Alpha Omega Alpha Fellowship. In 2021, Shah was appointed by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp to serve on the board of Augusta University Health System (now Wellstar MCG Health).
In 2022, Shah was named a director of Touchmark National Bank, an FDIC-insured Minority Deposit Institution in Alpharetta. He was elected secretary of the bank in 2023.
The Board of Regents is a constitutional body that governs the University System of Georgia, composed of 26 public colleges and universities, the Georgia Public Library Service and the Georgia Archives, and serving more than 382,000 students.