The American Osteopathic Foundation (AOF) announced that Sneha Shah, OMS II, will join its Board of Directors as its Student Representative.

A second-year osteopathic medical student at Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Student Doctor Shah was selected by the Student Osteopathic Medical Association to represent the interests of osteopathic medical students on the AOF Board.

“It is an honor to have been chosen by my fellow students to represent them on the AOF Board,” said Student Doctor Shah. “I hope to strongly voice their priorities while helping the AOF advance and grow the opportunities it provides to osteopathic students.”

Student Doctor Shah received a Bachelor of Arts through the Distinguished Major Program in Neuroscience and a Master's in Physiology and Biophysics from the Virginia Commonwealth University, where she received the James Poland Award for Most Outstanding Master's Student of the Year.

“It is an honor to have been chosen by my fellow students to represent them on the AOF Board,” said Student Doctor Shah. “I hope to strongly voice their priorities while helping the AOF advance and grow the opportunities it provides to osteopathic students.”

In addition to her clinical studies, Student Doctor Shah is dedicated to advancing scientific knowledge and understanding through research. She has served as a Research Assistant at the University of Virginia (UVA) Darden School of Business’s BRAD lab for 4 years and as a Neuroscience Research Intern in the UVA Health System for 2 years.

“The AOF is lucky to have such a motivated, research-focused member on our board—even more impressive is the fact that she’s achieved all this while in medical school,” said Stephen Downey, CAE, CFRE, AOF Executive Director. “We greatly value the input and efforts osteopathic medical students consistently dedicate to the AOF, and look forward to working to improve the support and opportunities we provide to them.”

Student Dr. Shah earned her Bachelor of Science degree in neuroscience from UVA in 2013, where her activities and societies included the Student Council, American Medical Women's Association and the Society for Neuroscience and University Research Network. She was inducted into Omega Beta Iota, a national political honor society, in 2016.

AOF student board members are eligible to serve for two years. For more information about the AOF Board of Directors, or to see a current list of members, please go to www.aof.org.