Akilah A. Jefferson Shah, MD, MSc
Akilah A. Jefferson Shah, MD, MSc
Assistant Professor
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Arkansas Children's Hospital
Akilah A. Jefferson Shah, MD, MSc is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Medicine (UAMS) and Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH). She is also a researcher at the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute (ACRI). Dr. Jefferson Shah received her medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, LA. She completed residency in Internal Medicine at the George Washington University Hospital in Washington, DC. Dr. Jefferson Shah completed her Allergy and Immunology fellowship at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD. She is also trained in health policy and bioethics, completing post-graduate training in both fields at Georgetown University and the National Institutes of Health, respectively. Prior to her appointment with UAMS/ACH she was faculty at University of California San Diego and Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego in the Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Rheumatology. She joined the faculty at UAMS/ACH in 2020. Dr. Jefferson Shah cares for patients with an array of allergic and immunologic diseases such as food allergy, asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, drug allergy, and primary immunodeficiency. She is especially interested in severe asthma and transitions of care. Dr. Jefferson Shah is a researcher in the ACRI asthma research program where her research focuses on asthma, health disparities, health policy, and ethics. She has a special interest in novel approaches to health policy and social determinants related to disparate asthma health outcomes. Her success to date includes clinical and research engagement resulting in publication of multiple peer-reviewed manuscripts, scholarly abstracts and presentations, and numerous invited lectures and panels. During the COVID-19 pandemic Dr. Jefferson Shah has immersed herself into issues related to health disparities and ethics, engaging through invited lectures, publications, and popular media outlets such at the Huffington Post and NPR. Dr. Jefferson Shah is a member of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (AAAAI), the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (ACAAI), and the American Academy of Pediatrics. She is board certified in Internal Medicine and Allergy/Immunology.