Dr. Ajlan Al Zaki

Dr. Ajlan Al Zaki, MD, PhD, is a Staff Physician within the Hematology & Blood Cancer Department of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s Cancer Institute.

Prior to joining Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Dr. Al Zaki was Director of Hematology Oncology & Cellular Therapy at Burjeel Hospital, Abu Dhabi.

Dr. Al Zaki is an Emirati physician-scientist who earned his undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University before completing a PhD in Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania, US, where he was one of five Howard Hughes Medical Institute Scholars and recipient of the Solomon P. Pollack Award for most outstanding graduate student in bioengineering. He then earned his medical degree from George Washington University, graduating with Alpha Omega Alpha honors, and completed residency in Internal Medicine through the highly selective Stanford Translational Investigator Program.

He trained in Hematology and Oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center, receiving the ASCO Young Investigator Award, Waun Ki Hong Award for Basic Science, and fellowships from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Lymphoma Research Foundation. At MD Anderson, he gained extensive experience in clinical trial design, co-leading several investigator-initiated studies, and later served on faculty researching mechanisms of CAR T-cell therapy toxicities while caring for patients with hematologic malignancies.

Dr. Al Zaki has authored 32 peer-reviewed publications, holds five patents, and contributed multiple book chapters in hematologic oncology. Recognized for his translational research expertise, he is committed to expanding access to innovative cancer therapies in the Middle East and beyond.