Dr. Zein received her dual bachelor’s degrees in Anthropology and Physiological Science at UCLA and worked initially as a healthcare consultant, developing programs that improve healthcare access for vulnerable populations. She returned to school to pursue a Masters in Public Health at Johns Hopkins University; her research foci were disaster response interventions for physical and mental health and the impact of the built environment on public health. During her masters, she worked with the International Rescue Committee in Baltimore to help address the acculturation and psychological stress the Baltimore refugee population faced in resettlement.

Dr. Zein completed her medical training at McGill University. During medical school she continue to pursue interests in global and cultural health, focusing on national and local clinical projects to support refugee and asylum seeker access to medical and mental health treatment as part of CFMS. She was awarded the Mona Bronfman Sheckman Prize in Psychiatry for her work. During her psychiatry residency training at New York University (NYU), Dr. Zein continued pursuing her interest in global mental health, working as a group leader for refugees/asylum seekers in the Bellevue Survivors of Torture program, and the Association for Culture and Psychiatry.

She also became interested in models of Integrated Behavioral Health (IBH) to provide better access to mental health services within primary care and other settings. She founded the Integrated Behavioral Health resident working group and designed a two-year resident training program in the Collaborative Care Model, and developed a Collaborative Care model in one of NYU Langone-Brooklyn's FQHC sites. She completed residency as a chief resident and won awards for Excellence in Resident Teaching as well as for humanism and clinical excellence in the Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program

Dr. Zein completed her Consult Liaison Fellowship at Stanford and has remained as clinical faculty. She previously currently served as an attending psychiatrist on the General, Intensive Care, and ED-Psychiatry Consult service. She currently works as the Psychiatric Director for Integrated Behavioral Health. She initially the model for the Stanford Primary Care Clinic serving Cisco employees and their families. She is currently working on expanding Integrated Behavioral health to other Stanford Primary Care Clinics, and has worked with Stanford's Digital Health Team to start and expand psychiatry e-consults for primary care. She also works as the Behavioral Health Director for Cisco, applying principles of organizational psychiatry and public health to assess company behavioral health strategy and provide support for Cisco employees and their families. Additionally, Dr Zein is part of the Stanford Mental Health lab where she supervises and completes evaluations for refugee and asylum seekers, and teaches Neuroscience and Psychopharmacology for the Psychiatry Residents