Zarzar brothers followed father into psychiatry

For the Zarzar brothers, psychiatry isn’t just a job — it’s in their genes.

Drs. Mike, Nick and David Zarzar grew up watching their father, a psychiatrist, compassionately care for his patients. All three earned their undergraduate and medical degrees from UNC–Chapel Hill then, like their father, dedicated their lives to helping others through psychiatry.

Mike Zarzar ’80, 84 (MD), the oldest, joined UNC School of Medicine psychiatry department in 2018 and is a clinical professor and medical director at UNC Hospitals Youth Behavioral Health in Butner, North Carolina.

Nick Zarzar ’81, ’86 (MD), the middle brother, joined the faculty in 2019 and is a clinical professor in the psychiatry department. He treats patients at a UNC Health outpatient psychiatry clinic in Chapel Hill.

David Zarzar ’87, ’93 (MD), the youngest, joined the faculty as a professor in 2021 and performs outpatient and interventional care at a Chapel Hill UNC Health clinic.

Their parents, Nakhleh “Mike” and Doris Zarzar, graduated from American University of Beirut, he with a medical degree and she with a nursing degree. They moved to Chapel Hill in 1956 for his psychiatry residency at the UNC School of Medicine. The elder Zarzar later worked as medical director of Dorothea Dix and John Umstead hospitals and was North Carolina’s mental health director from 1973 to 1977.

Mike Zarzar said that their father’s love of his profession influenced their career choice. “Our father had such empathy for people and love for what he did,” he said.

The family lived about 100 yards from Umstead Hospital. The boys hung out on the main building’s veranda, sometimes eating lunch there. They interacted with patients who took walks with staff. Sometimes patients played kickball or dodgeball with them.

“At a young age, that made me quite aware of mental health and some people it impacted,” Nick Zarzar said.

The brothers transitioned from kickball to soccer as they got older. Their father helped create the Raleigh Soccer league, now known as the Capital Area Soccer League. Each played through high school.

After high school, they enrolled at Carolina with no plans to pursue psychiatry but came to it in different ways.

Mike Zarzar, originally a business and economics major, switched to chemistry and went straight into medical school.

Nick Zarzar entered medical school intending to become a pediatrician or family practitioner. During rotations, he saw many patients with psychiatric and physical conditions influencing each other. He decided to focus on psychiatry.

David Zarzar spent two years working in a psychiatric hospital before entering medical school.

Perhaps a genetic predisposition to psychiatry took over. Still, they each have different skill sets.

“I tend to be a systems thinker and manage administrative processes. Nick is detailed and thorough. David will jump in and support. He’s a natural caregiver,” Michael Zarzar said. “We have complementary skill sets and all focus on patients to help them in a professional, compassionate way.”

Their harmonious skills helped them partner with their father in a Raleigh private practice for 25 years. “Michael, David, and Dad always treated each patient as their most important patient, which I’ve tried to emulate,” Nick Zarzar said.

“We’re not clones of each other,” David Zarzar said. “Mom said I’m the mischievous one, Michael took positive chances, and Nick is the intelligent one. But we all have a great sense of humor.”

The brothers like to get together with family. When they do, they don’t talk about psychiatry. “We’ll discuss current events, Carolina sports or family happenings,” Nick Zarzar said. “We get along great, always have.”