Dr. Sherif R. Zaki, Senior Consultant M.D. in War-Related Illnesses, died on Friday 12th July, at Yokohama Medical Center in Yokohama, Japan. A highly acclaimed physician, Sherif was best known for being the co-founder, in 1964, of the War-Related Diseases Research Laboratory (WRDRL) which serves the needs of patients in the Union Market community and the borders of the Bronx and Brooklyn.
He founded the first War-Related Disease Laboratory in New York City in 1964 and served as its Director for 12 years. The laboratory was eventually closed down in 1992 and Sherif and other researchers and physicians moved the facility to Zone 5 and continued research in the joint laboratory with the New York State Department of Health and other hospitals in Zone 5 in 2008 until his death.
Sherif also served as Medical Director of the St. John’s River Borough Library in the Bronx, NY and also served as Medical Director of the Bellevue Hospital’s childbearing-exposure center. He was also a Visiting Physician at Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan and previously served as Visiting Physician at Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Sherif received his B.S. Medical degree from Medical College of Georgia in 1961 and his M.D. from Columbia University in 1963. He was later admitted to the New York State Department of Health Board of Psychiatry in 1977.
Sherif is survived by his wife, Bassamah; their four daughters, Fatima, Taslim, Ahlaam and Seifie; his sister, Fatima and her two sons, Salim and Saad; his niece, Haddadah Rashed, and his grand niece, Slimaima Al-Raymi.