Dr. Aabid Shariff and Dr. Afreen Shariff
Citrus Oncology – MICRO Spring 2025
Published November 12, 2025
As part of our ‘Meet Our Founders’ series today, we introduce Dr. Aabid Shariff, CEO and Co-Founder, and Dr. Afreen Shariff, Co-Founder, of Citrus Oncology, based in Cary, NC. Citrus Oncology is an AI-enabled virtual platform that provides fast cancer side effect care that is fast, collaborative, and coordinated.
Q: What problem are you trying to solve and what influenced you to start your company?
A: Cancer drugs are more effective today than they were back in the day. Oncologists now have a growing toolbox of cancer drugs so patients can be free of cancer. However, patients in active treatment and even in survivorship develop complex side effects called toxicities. If left unmanaged, they lead to hospitalizations, poor quality of life, and discontinuation of cancer treatment. Our nephew beat cancer, but suffered most of his short life despite being a survivor. This is what we set out to solve at Citrus.
Q: What are you most excited about right now? What keeps you up at night?
A: The pace of innovation across industries is unlike anything we’ve seen before—entire landscapes can shift in just a few months. What excites us most is being part of this rapid transformation and seeing our own growth as we navigate it. However, what keeps us up at night is ensuring that whatever we do creates meaningful, positive impact in patients’ lives. This challenge is particularly complex because every patient has a unique journey with distinct needs and obstacles.
Q: What have you enjoyed most about starting your own company?
A: The patients we support have told us time and time again about how they are glad to have found Citrus Oncology, where we take side effects as seriously as the cancer itself. The gratitude from patients makes every day worth it. Besides this, as entrepreneurs, we get to meet lots of new people and develop new friendships.
Q: What other passions do you have besides your business?
A: We love playing tennis, and now our kids play the sport. It is our favorite family activity – to watch or play the sport.
While visiting the Triangle, Aabid and Afreen recommend:
- NC Museum of Art continues to be our favorite place. Our list of favorite places to eat are too many. Maple View Farm, Cafe Driade, Juju, Pizzeria Toro, and MSushi are go-to spots to take folks visiting from out of town.
Support Citrus Oncology and Aabid and Afreen by:
- If you know anyone going through cancer, or are now free of cancer but undergoing challenges, please have them reach out to us.