Alia Zaidi, MD is a physician-scientist committed to advancing research that improves the quality of life for childhood cancer survivors, particularly in resource-limited settings. She currently serves as Director of Research and Clinical Studies in Pediatric Oncology at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where her work focuses on long-term health outcomes and evidence-based survivorship care.
Originally trained as a pediatrician and oncologist, Zaidi completed specialist training in pediatric and adolescent oncology at the University of Newcastle in the United Kingdom, followed by fellowships in Global Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Childhood Cancer Survivorship at St. Jude. Over the past decade, she has contributed to numerous multi-institutional projects aimed at strengthening survivorship research, both globally and locally. Her research portfolio includes over half a dozen publications in high-impact journals, including JAMA Network Open, The Lancet Oncology, and Pediatric Hematology and Oncology.
Zaidi’s interests lie in investigating modifiable risk factors, evaluating follow-up care guidelines, and identifying disparities in survivorship outcomes to inform better policy and practice. Her goal is to support methodologically rigorous, data-driven studies that can help shape equitable and sustainable models of care for pediatric cancer survivors worldwide.
Through the Master’s in Clinical Investigations program at the St. Jude Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Zaidi aims to deepen her expertise in research methodology, epidemiology, and biostatistics. She is excited to build upon her current work by acquiring the formal training needed to design and lead impactful clinical research that advances survivorship science and global child health.
Hometown: Memphis, TN
Education:
2018 - Childhood Cancer Survivorship Fellowship – St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
2013 - Global Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, International Outreach Program – St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
2001 - Specialist Training in Pediatric and Adolescent Oncology – University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, U.K.
1987 - MBBS – King Edward Medical University, Lahore, Pakistan
Publications:
Ehrhardt MJ, Liu Q, Dixon SB, Caron E, Redd D, Shelton K, Huang IC, Bhakta N, Ness KK, Mulrooney DA, Brinkman TM, Chemaitilly W, Delaney A, Armstrong GT, Srivastava DK, Zaidi A, Robison LL, Yasui Y, Hudson MM. Association of modifiable health conditions and social determinants of health with late mortality in survivors of childhood cancer. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 Feb 1;6(2). PMID: 36763361
Howell CR, Bjornard KL, Ness KK, Alberts N, Armstrong GT, Bhakta N, Brinkman T, Caron E, Chemaitilly W, Green DM, Folse T, Huang IC, Jefferies JL, Kaste S, Krull KR, Lanctot JQ, Mulrooney DA, Neale G, Nichols KE, Sabin ND, Shelton K, Srivastava DK, Wang Z, Wilson C, Yasui Y, Zaidi A, Zhang J, Robison LL, Hudson MM, Ehrhardt MJ. Cohort profile: The St. Jude Lifetime Cohort Study (SJLIFE) for paediatric cancer survivors. Int J Epidemiol. 2021 Mar 3;50(1):39-49. PMID: 33374007
Faizan M, Caniza MA, Anwar S, Kashif RU, Saleem R, Javed H, Zafar A, Taj MM, Hameed A, Homsi M, Rathore AW, Sadiq M, Gonzalez M, Zaidi A. Infection prevention and control measures at the Children Hospital Lahore: A My Child Matters Collaborative Project. JCO Glob Oncol. 2020 Oct; 6:1540-1545. PMID: 33064627.
Ramirez O, Aristizabal P, Zaidi A, Gagnepain-Lacheteau A, Ribeiro RC, Bravo LE, VIGICANCER Working Group. Childhood cancer survival disparities in a universalized health system in Cali, Colombia. Pediatr Hematol Oncol. 2018 Dec;3(4):79-87.
Howard SC, Zaidi A, Cao X, Weil O, Bey P, Patte C, Samudio A, Haddad L, Lam CG, Moreira C, Pereira A, Harif M, Hessissen L, Choudhury S, Fu L, Caniza MA, Lecciones J, Traore F, Ribeiro RC, Gagnepain-Lacheteau A. The My Child Matters programme: effect of public-private partnerships on paediatric cancer care in low-income and middle-income countries. Lancet Oncol. 2018 May;19(5):e252-e266. Review. PMID: 29726390
Ramirez O, Aristizabal P, Zaidi A, Ribeiro RC, Bravo LE. Implementing a childhood cancer outcomes surveillance system within a population-based cancer registry. J Glob Oncol. 2018 Sep;4:1-11. PMID: 30241253;
Zaidi A, Johnson LM, Church CL, Gomez-Garcia WC, Popescu MI, Margolin JF, Ribeiro RC. Management of concurrent pregnancy and Acute Lymphoblastic malignancy in teenaged patients: Two illustrative cases and review of the literature. J Adolesc Young Adult Oncol. 2014 Dec 1;3(4):160-175. Review. PMID: 25538861.