Shahmir is a doctoral student at the New York University School of Global Public Health. He received his Bachelor's degree in public health and political science from Johns Hopkins University, and has conducted research in the US, China, Australia, and Pakistan on various social and behavioral contributors to health. His current research focuses on interpersonal and community level factors involved in the eating behaviors of young and second-generation Asian Americans, and how these factors can be integrated into innovative intervention designs to address non-communicable disease disparities. Within the MASALA study, Shahmir is involved with overseeing data collection within New York City, as well as exploring the complex cultural, interpersonal, and community level experiences related to the health of South Asians.