Dr. Shah was born in Chicago, Illinois. His family is originally from Gujarat, India.Dr. Shah graduated salutatorian of his high school class and was a National Merit Scholar, testing in the top one half of one percent of all students in the United States. Dr. Shah attended Northwestern University for college and obtained his degree in Biomedical Engineering. It was during his undergraduate studies in Biomedical Engineering that he first developed an interest in the complex angles and force vectors that govern the human face. Dr. Shah remained at Northwestern for medical school and obtained his M.D. He was a member of the Honors Program in Medical Education.