Everyday Encounters: A friendship forged through science, family and public health work

Michael Zachariou of Novato (left) and David Witt of Mill Valley are seen at Blackie’s Pasture in Tiburon on May 22. The two scientists reflected on careers devoted to fighting disease — Zachariou as a pharmaceutical researcher, Witt as an infectious-disease specialist and Kaiser Permanente epidemiologist. (Tyler Callister / The Ark)

David Witt and Michael Zachariou are finishing a walk along the trail at Blackie’s Pasture, reflecting on careers devoted to fighting disease.

Witt, 73, is an infectious-disease specialist and Kaiser Permanente epidemiologist whose work has ranged from advising Marin County officials during the COVID-19 pandemic to conducting field research in Gambia. Zachariou, 65, is a biochemist with a doctorate who spent years as a pharmaceutical researcher for Bayer and BioMarin, developing drugs to treat ultra-rare childhood diseases.

The two men are fathers who met through their children at Tamalpais High School, and both say their careers have been deeply meaningful.

Witt, who lives in Mill Valley, makes regular trips to Gambia, where he works with the Medical Research Council. He returned from the West African country in January.

He says the medical challenges there are starkly different from those in Marin.

“The challenge is how to take care of people in a place where the average daily income is a buck and a half,” Witt says May 22. “And there’s no data and there hasn’t been … much of Africa hasn’t had highly functioning governance.

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