Dr. Dawn Zimmerman is the associate program director for the Global Health Program where she focuses on coordinating international teams on the USAID Emerging Pandemic Threats PREDICT programs in Myanmar and Kenya. These teams work to detect the next pandemic human pathogens by investigating
the animals most likely to harbor them. Zimmerman’s field experience includes wildlife work and capacity building in the Russian Far East, Madagascar, Namibia, El Salvador, South Africa, Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Through a University of California at Davis position as the regional veterinary manager for Gorilla Doctors, Zimmerman worked with USAID PREDICT in Uganda and Rwanda from 2011 to 2013. Her primary research interests include applying a One Health approach to the conservation of critically endangered wildlife species and the mitigation of emerging infectious diseases at the wildlife-human interface.

Zimmerman has worked in the field of zoological and wildlife medicine for over 14 years. She completed her Master of Science from San Diego State University and her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Ross University. Her master’s degree work focused on development of techniques for reproductive assistance in exotic canids and she has a particular interest in the conservation of African carnivores.