Department: Rheumatology
Interests: Joint pain, Joint inflammation, Rheumatism, Osteoporosis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Systemic Lupus erythematosus, Psoriatic arthritis, Ankylosing spondylitis, Infusion therapy, Ultrasound guided injections, Diagnostic musculoskeletal ultrasound
Languages: English, Arabic
Dr. Zaki Abou Zahr is an American-trained and Board-certified Consultant Rheumatologist with more than 10 years of experience in the United States and the UAE.
Dr. Abou Zahr earned his medical degree from the American University of Beirut and completed his internal medicine residency at a Johns Hopkins-affiliated hospital in Baltimore, where he worked with several world-renowned rheumatologists. He then pursued a Rheumatology fellowship at the Baylor College of Medicine – MD Anderson combined fellowship in Houston, Texas, before joining the University of Minnesota as an Assistant Professor. He served on the faculty for eight years, during which he held roles as the Director of Rheumatology Training at Hennepin County Medical Center and the Director of Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Training for the University of Minnesota Rheumatology Fellowship Program. In 2019, he was invited twice as a Visiting Professor to EHS hospitals in the northern Emirates.
Dr. Abou Zahr later moved to the UAE, serving as a Consultant Rheumatologist at Healthpoint Hospital for nearly three years before joining Harley Street Medical Centre. He also held the position of Head of the Department of Medical Specialties and received numerous awards for excellence throughout his career. In addition, Dr. Abou Zahr holds a special certification in interpreting bone density scans (DXA) and managing osteoporosis from the International Society of Clinical Densitometry. This privileged him to be an expert in Osteoporosis diagnosis and treatment in the region.
Dr. Abou Zahr is actively involved in educational programs across the GCC, frequently invited to organize conferences with a special focus on musculoskeletal ultrasound diagnostics and interventions. He also chaired two national Continuing Medical Education (CME) courses in the U.S. covering musculoskeletal ultrasound.
Peer-Reviewed Publications
1. Al-Omari B, Farhat J, Khan M, Grancharov H, Zahr ZA, Hanna S, Alrahoomi A. Exploring patient treatment decision making for osteoarthritis in the UAE: a cross-sectional adaptive choice-based conjoint study. BMC Public Health. 2023 Aug 12;23(1):1542. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-16490-1. PMID: 37573337; PMCID: PMC10423421.
2. Mahomud S,Ji Y, Peng Y, Abou Zahr Z. The Incidence of Giant Cell Arteritis after Bisphosphonate Exposure: A Retrospective Cohort Study. Int J Rheum Dis. 2020. In Press.
3. Mahmoud SB, Abou Zahr Z. Systemic lupus erythematosus triggered by trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Scand J Rheumatol. 2020 Apr 15;1-2. doi: 10.1080/03009742.2020.1719543.
4. Abou Zahr Z, Spiegelman A, Cantu M, Ng B. Perioperative use of anti-rheumatic agents does not increase early postoperative infection risks: a Veteran Affairs’ administrative database study. Rheumatol Int. 2015;35:265-272. PMID: 2518719.
5. Nayak P, Zahr Z, Luo R, Elting L, Suarez-Almazor ME. Mortality risk in patients with rheumatoid arthritis who develop non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Arthritis & Rheumatology. 2014;66(11):S472.
6. Zahr ZA, Fang H, Magder L, Petri M. Predictors of corticosteroid tapering in SLE patients: the Hopkins lupus cohort. Lupus. 2013;May 24. PMID: 23708944
7. Baer AN, Zahr ZA, Khan S, Polydefkis M. Acro-osteolysis in diabetes mellitus. J Rhematol. 2012;39(12):2364-2365. PMID: 23204315.
8. Zahr ZA, Baer AN. Malignancy in myosistis. Curr Rheumatol Rep. 2011;13(3):208-215. PMID: 21336621.
9. Faraj W, Abou Zahr Z, Mukherji D, Zaghal A, Khalife M. Pancreatic anastomosis disruption seven years postpancreaticoduodenectomy. Case Rep Med. 2010;2010:436739. PMID: 20814558.