Sherif R. Zaki (November 24, 1955 – November 21, 2021) was an American pathologist. He was the chief of the Centers for Disease Control infectious diseases pathology branch.[1][2] Sometimes called a "disease detective", his career included research on Ebola outbreaks, Zika virus outbreaks, the 2001 anthrax attacks, Nipah virus, leptospirosis and COVID-19.[3][4]

Early life and education

Zaki was born in Alexandria, Egypt.[3] He graduated from the Alexandria University School of Medicine in 1978.[5] While undergoing an orthopedic medicine residency, he took an interest in pathology and successfully secured a scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to pursue his PhD. He relocated once again to Emory University to pursue a joint PhD and residency in experimental pathology.[6]

Career

Zaki joined the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1988.[7] In the early 1990s, Zaki contributed to the discovery that hantaviruses were causing a previously unexplained series of deaths among members of the Navajo Nation.[5] He participated in the processing and identification of the anthrax strain used during the 2001 anthrax attacks.[8][9] He contributed to research into the use of the experimental antiviral drug remdesivir against the Nipah virus, finding a protective effect in animal trials.[4] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Zaki studied the causes of fatality related to SARS-CoV-2 and the virus' impact on pregnancy.[9]

Personal life

Zaki died from complications after a fall at his home in Atlanta, Georgia on November 21, 2021.[1][2][7]

References

  1. 1 2 Roberts, Sam (December 4, 2021). "Dr. Sherif R. Zaki, Acclaimed Disease Detective, Dies at 65". New York Times. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Sherif Zaki, CDC pathologist who studied infectious diseases, dies at 65". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
  3. 1 2 McCrea Jones, Raymond (February 16, 2016). "CDC's top disease detective is driven by passion for mystery". STAT. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
  4. 1 2 Lo, Michael K.; Feldmann, Friederike; Gary, Joy M.; Jordan, Robert; Bannister, Roy; Cronin, Jacqueline; Patel, Nishi R.; Klena, John D.; Nichol, Stuart T.; Cihlar, Tomas; Zaki, Sherif R.; Feldmann, Heinz; Spiropoulou, Christina F.; de Wit, Emmie (May 29, 2019). "Remdesivir (GS-5734) protects African green monkeys from Nipah virus challenge". Science Translational Medicine. 11 (494). doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.aau9242. ISSN 1946-6234. PMC 6732787. PMID 31142680.
  5. 1 2 Watts, Geoff (January 22, 2022). "Sherif Ramzy Zaki". The Lancet. 399 (10322): 354. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(22)00060-5. ISSN 0140-6736. Archived from the original on June 7, 2023.
  6. ↑ Woolsey, Mark (November 26, 2021). "CDC loses chief infectious disease expert, Sherif Zaki, to accident". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ISSN 1539-7459. Archived from the original on June 7, 2023. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  7. 1 2 "Honoring Sherif Zaki – the Science and the Man | We Were There". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. April 29, 2022. Archived from the original on June 7, 2023. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  8. ↑ Shieh, Wun-Ju; Guarner, Jeannette; Paddock, Christopher; Greer, Patricia; Tatti, Kathleen; Fischer, Marc; Layton, Marci; Philips, Michael; Bresnitz, Eddy; Quinn, Conrad P.; Popovic, Tanja; Perkins, Bradley A.; Zaki, Sherif R. (November 2003). "The Critical Role of Pathology in the Investigation of Bioterrorism-Related Cutaneous Anthrax". The American Journal of Pathology. 163 (5): 1901–1910. doi:10.1016/S0002-9440(10)63548-1. PMC 1892419. PMID 14578189.
  9. 1 2 Hodges, Lauren; Intagliata, Christopher (November 30, 2021). "Sherif Zaki, CDC disease detective, is dead at age 65". NPR. Archived from the original on June 7, 2023. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
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