ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – New York Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo has chosen a physician and researcher from Manhattan to be the state’s next health commissioner.

Cuomo said Dr. Nirav R. Shah will be nominated to head the Department of Health, replacing Dr. Richard Daines. The agency is responsible for public health and ensuring services are available for New Yorkers, including low-income residents through Medicaid.

Shah is an internist at Bellevue Hospital Center, associate investigator at the Geisinger Center for Health Research and assistant professor at NYU Langone Medical Center.

Originally from Buffalo, the 38-year-old Harvard graduate has medical and public health degrees from Yale.

He has researched information technology and improving care for vulnerable populations.

(Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)