Zohaib Akhtar MD MPH
Zohaib Akhtar MD MPH
I am Zohaib and I solve health issues in a multidisciplinary way.
I was born in a small city in Pakistan, where lack of access to basic healthcare negatively affected my family and shaped my understanding of the value of timely, quality care. I pursued a career focused on creating better solutions for patients and communities. Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to combine clinical expertise, research, entrepreneurship and innovation to develop strategies that improve health outcomes worldwide. My work has enabled me to build technology and implement evidence based ideas that transform care delivery and set new standards in healthcare.
Health Outcomes
I began my medical career in clinical and outcomes research at the Cleveland Clinic, where I focused on improving thermoregulationand perioperative care. This work deepened my understanding of the intersection between clinical practice and patient outcomes, sparking a broader interest in addressing systemic challenges in healthcare.
During my postdoctoral work at Johns Hopkins Medicine, I expanded my focus to include clinical operations and health outcomes research, tackling inefficiencies in health care. One of my most impactful projects involved designing a multidisciplinary approach that allowed multiple specialties to evaluate breast cancer patients simultaneously. This initiative not only reduced the time from diagnosis to treatment from months to just two weeks but also redefined care delivery—offering patients a timely, coordinated, and more effective pathway to treatment.
Entrepreneurship
As I encountered more healthcare challenges, I became increasingly curious about how technology could bridge critical gaps in care. This curiosity led to the development of Dropby, a system designed to leverage real-time data to better understand health outcomes. Working on Dropby highlighted the importance of combining clinical insights with innovative tools to enhance patient outcomes, particularly in preventive care.
Biomedical design + innovation
To broaden my understanding of healthcare innovation, I joined a fellowship program in Biomedical Design in Denmark, collaborating with Aarhus University and the University of Copenhagen. This experience immersed me in Scandinavia’s highly patient-centered healthcare system, where I learned how design thinking and cross-disciplinary collaboration can address complex healthcare challenges.
In Scandinavia, the emphasis on prevention, accessibility, and efficiency offered a striking contrast to the systems I had worked in previously. For example, the integration of healthcare delivery with innovative technologies, such as digital heatlh and real-time data applications, improved patient engagement and outcomes. Additionally, the region’s focus on designing care pathways around the patient journey—rather than fitting patients into existing systems highlighed the value of empathy-driven care models.
Business side of health
I realized that creating lasting change in healthcare requires more than innovation—it needs sustainable business models. I have been lucky to also a part of Northwestern University as an Executive MBA candidate at the Kellogg School of Management, a program renowned for shaping transformative leaders and a journey that’s helping me bridge the gap between clinical expertise, design thinking, and business strategy.
External collaborations
I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with organizations like the Red Cross, consulting with health tech startups, exploring the role of artificial intelligence in healthcare, and teaching better approaches to healthcare innovation.
Phone:
HELLO THERE
Healthcare is about more than treating illness; it’s about creating systems that enable people to live healthier, fuller lives. I believe the most meaningful change happens when we focus not just on solving immediate problems but on designing solutions that prevent issues, reduce barriers, and empower communities.
