Zakia received her DVM degree at the Higher National Veterinary School of Algiers and a Master’s degree in Immunology from Paris Descartes University and Paris-Est Créteil University. In late 2010, Zakia embarked on her doctoral studies in human immunology, in the lab of Dr. Christelle Retière at the University of Nantes and the Établissement Français du Sang. During her doctoral work, Zakia studied NK cell immunity to CMV. In 2014, Zakia joined the laboratory of Dr. Peter Parham at Stanford University, where her research took an unexpected path investigating γδ  T cell immunity to viral infections and cancer.