Barbara L. Zimmer, PhD

Barbara L. Zimmer, PhD is the Principal Scientist Emeritus for Microbiology  at Beckman Coulter, Inc. She has worked in development of in vitro diagnostics (IVD) microbiology products for over 25 years in both the Product Development and Medical/Clinical/Scientific Affairs groups. Her expertise is developing tests for microbial identification, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, and detection of antimicrobial resistance. In addition, for 30 years, she served as a clinical faculty member for the University of California, Davis School of Medicine. Dr. Zimmer is a long time CLSI volunteer. She was a Voting Member for the Subcommittee for Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing for 14 years, and currently serves as an Advisor to that Committee. She co-chairs the Methods Development and Standardization Working Group. She also served as a Voting Member of the Consensus Committee for Microbiology for three years. Outside of CLSI, she has been very active in the Susceptibility Testing Manufacturer’s Association (STMA), which represents the voice of that industry to both CLSI and other agencies. She has given many presentations locally and internationally on the use of CLSI documents in the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory. She has been a member of ISO TC 212 Working Group 4 and contributed to the development of ISO 20776-1 and -2 on antimicrobial susceptibility testing, and ISO 16782 on broth for susceptibility testing.

Dr. Zimmer received her PhD from the University of California, Davis, and her MS from the University of Kentucky. Her clinical experience includes work at several hospitals, including Mayo Clinic. She is also a member of the American Society for Microbiology.