He attended Alexandria University, where he received his medical degree and master's degree in pathology. He did his medical residency in Egypt, then moved to United States and eventually became a naturalized US citizen. He received a doctorate in experimental pathology from Emory University.
He was chief pathologist at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and helped diagnose previously unknown infectious diseases around the world, including hantavirus, West Nile virus, Ebola and Zika viruses, SARS, and covid-19.