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American pathologist (1955–2021)
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
^
a
b 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 .
^
a
b
"Sherif Zaki, CDC pathologist who studied infectious diseases, dies at 65" . Washington Post .
ISSN
0190-8286 . Retrieved December 6, 2021 .
^
a
b McCrea Jones, Raymond (February 16, 2016).
"CDC's top disease detective is driven by passion for mystery" . STAT . Retrieved December 6, 2021 .
^
a
b 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 .
^
a
b 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.
^ 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 .
^
a
b
"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 .
^ 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 .
^
a
b 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 .