Zaher is a strong advocate for relevant study designs and credible research models in medicine, especially in complex and misunderstood diseases.
The serious stuff:
Zaher Nahle is an award-winning scientist, consultant, and
biomedical executive. His background spans the fields of cancer,
diabetes, stem cell biology, post-viral syndrome, and heart disease.
Earlier in his career, he served on the faculty at leading
universities and published in top journals, including Nature, Nature
Cell Biology, Acta Neuropathologica, JBC, and Oncogene. He was the
Chief Scientific Officer and Vice President for Research at the
nonprofit Solve ME/CFS, focusing on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) -
a disease with strong symptom similarity to Long-Covid. He was also
the CEO of the Arthritis National Research Foundation and has deep
personal interest in arthritis and autoimmune diseases.
Zaher received his PhD in Physiology and Biophysics from Stony Brook
University/Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) in New York. His
doctoral work - conducted in the laboratory of his mentor Scott W.
Lowe at CSHL - identified new mechanisms for viral oncogenes in
genomic instability and programmed cell death. He went on to earn a
Master's degree in Public Administration (MPA) from Harvard
University. In addition, he received a fellowship certificate in
Public Policy and Management from Harvard John F. Kennedy School of
Government (HKS), where he was a Mason Fellow.
For his academic and nonprofit work, Zaher earned many recognitions.
He is an awardee of the American Heart Association (AHA), the
Department of Defense (DoD)-Congressionally Directed Medical
Research Programs (CDMRP), The American Cancer Society (ACS) Scholar
Award program (Pay if), and the National Priorities Research Program
of the Qatar Foundation. Recently, he was a founding investigator of
an NIH U24 Data Management and Coordinating Center (DMCC) grant
dedicated to ME/CFS. And, a recipient of the Whitelabel PEER award
from Genetic Alliance, a program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation (RWJF) to bolster patient-centered research, create
Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems, and improve clinical
outcomes research.
Zaher is a strong advocate for relevant study designs and credible
research models in medicine, especially in complex and misunderstood
diseases. For years, he has been making the case for change through
written professional publications, contributions to committees and
panels, appearance on public television, engagement with health
officials, and advocacy on Capitol Hill. To that end, he led
strategic planning for global programs, organizations, and
healthcare initiatives. This includes launching research grant
programs on four continents, developing medical education tools for
patients and healthcare professionals, and creating trans-Atlantic
coalitions for investigative research purposes. Zaher also directed
targeted investment programs with dozens of medical centers,
government agencies, and industry partners to accelerate the
discovery process in biomedical sciences. He is a frequent
organizer, moderator, and speaker at international conferences in
the US and Europe, and served on specialized workgroups at federal
agencies, including the NIH and the CDC.
The fun stuff:
Zaher is a Harley-Davidson enthusiast and enjoys riding his V-Rod up
and down the Pacific Coast Highway every chance he gets. He likes
volunteering for worthy causes. His most fulfilling volunteer
experience was being a mentor for the 'prep for prep' program
designed to help talented minority students attain higher education
and become effective leaders in the fields of Arts and Sciences.
Zaher is also passionate about the disability agenda, founded an
initiative to advocate for equity and human rights for the disabled,
and is an animal lover - specifically a cat person. He is 'kind of'
ok with dogs!