Dr. Nirav Shah, Maine’s former CDC director and a top federal health official during the Biden administration, is returning to Maine to launch a public health education program at Colby College.

Colby College announced Thursday it will welcome a new visiting professor in the fall, former Maine CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah. Shah, an epidemiologist who served the state during the COVID-19 pandemic,

Dr. Nirav Shah announced Friday on social media that he is leaving his job at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Nirav Shah, who rose to national prominence during the pandemic as director of the Maine CDC, will now be joining Colby College in the fall.