Justin P. V. Zachariah MD, MPH

Dr. Zachariah is a clinician and scientist currently supported by a National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Career Development Award in Clinical Research (K23). His clinical domains are the "lifecourse" prevention of heart attack and stroke in adulthood by focusing on children as well as the management of congenital heart disease. He has a special interest in genetically mediated dyslipidemias and "personalized medicine" approaches. Dr. Zachariah's expertise in cardiovascular risk factors is recognized by membership on leading national committees.  

His research concentrates on predictors of future outcomes through biomarkers, analysis of past temporal trends to infer future directions, and examining the utility of these discoveries through cost-effectiveness analysis. His innovations include work on novel biochemical predictors of congenital heart disease complications, biophysical and biochemical predictors of atherosclerotic disease progression, novel epidemiological trends in cardiovascular disease risk factors in youth using existing databases and de novo assembly of ad hoc database networks, electronic health record tools to enhance abnormal blood pressure recognition and assist in drug recall actions, refining the utility of ambulatory blood pressure monitors in pediatric practice, and defining the cost-effectiveness of population level screening.

Dr. Zachariah was born and raised in Houston and received his undergraduate and medical school education as a Rice University-Baylor College of Medicine Medical Scholar and National Merit Scholar. He then trained in Pediatrics at the University of California San Francisco and completed his Pediatric Cardiology clinical training at Boston Children's Hospital-Harvard Medical School. While in Boston through National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute T32 grant support, he was the 1st Pediatric Cardiology Fellow to undergo research training at the Framingham Heart Study and simultaneously obtained a Master's in Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health. He was a staff cardiologist at Boston Children's Hospital for 5 years prior to coming home to work in Preventive Cardiology at Texas Children's Hospital.