LIFESTYLE MEDICINE TEAM

Zainab Shirazi, BA
Medical Student Researcher
Stanford University

Zainab Shirazi is a fourth year medical student from the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she also completed her undergraduate degree in Psychology. After graduation in 2020, she will be pursuing a career in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. Zainab is helping to launch our lifestyle medicine initiative at Stanford and is a national representative for the American College of Sports Medicine, Exercise is Medicine Campaign. Additionally, she has personal training certifications in CrossFit and XPT, fitness programs that promote mental resilience and physical versatility.

“I have noticed that key lifestyle behaviors- like exercise, diet, and sleep- are topics that are often glossed over in patient care. Many people who are told to ‘exercise more’ and ‘eat better’ are left wondering how exactly to implement healthy lifestyle changes that are most suitable for them. Amidst the vast amount of information about things like meditation, keto-diets, and HIIT exercises, it can be very overwhelming to evaluate our own lifestyle needs! This inspired me to become a lifestyle medicine advocate to empower people with evidence-based practices to take control of their health and well-being. I think lifestyle medicine represents a huge shift towards patient-centered care and I am really excited to be a part of this initiative at Stanford, especially so early in my medical career.”