Richard K. Zimmerman, MD, MPH, FAAFP, FIDSA
Associate Faculty
Professional Statement
Richard K. Zimmerman, MD, MPH, FAAFP, FIDSA, is a physician-scientist whose work integrates vaccine policy, clinical epidemiology, public health ethics, and Christian bioethics. His interest in vaccine policy led to service on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, first as a liaison and later as a voting member. He chaired the ACIP influenza and adult immunization working groups and has continued long-term service on vaccine-related working groups. His scholarship examines the ethical dimensions of immunization policy, including equitable access, vaccine allocation and rationing, institutional vaccination policies, the use of human fetal cell lines, the relationship between individual autonomy and community protection, and communication with patients who have religious or moral concerns. He is interested in the doctrine of common grace as it relates to trust in science. His research program supplies evidence for policy through vaccine trials, test-negative studies of influenza and respiratory-virus vaccine effectiveness, randomized cluster trials to improve vaccination rates, decision-analytic and agent-based modeling, and studies of disparities in vaccine delivery. Dr. Zimmerman brings formal interdisciplinary training to this work, including an MA in Bioethics from Trinity International University and an MA in Theological Studies from Westminster Theological Seminary. He has taught bioethics and vaccine policy through case-based seminars, lectures, mentoring, and writing for clinical, academic, and faith-based audiences. Recent publications and public scholarship address MMR vaccination for Christian healthcare professionals, hepatitis B vaccine policy, childhood immunization schedule changes, autonomy and expertise in public policy, and rebuilding public trust in vaccination. He also practices family medicine at East Liberty Family Health Care Center, where he has served on the Quality Assurance and Ethics Committees. Across his research, teaching, clinical service, and public engagement, he seeks to connect rigorous scientific evidence with humane ethical reasoning, especially for decisions affecting vulnerable and underserved populations.
Appointments
- Professor with Tenure Department of Family Medicine School of Medicine
- Professor with Tenure Department of Clinical Epidemiology School of Medicine
- Vice Chair for Research Department of Family Medicine School of Medicine
- Professor (secondary) Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences School of Public Health
- Professor (secondary) Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology School of Public Health
- Professor (secondary) Clinical and Translational Science Institute
- Affiliate Faculty Center for Vaccine Research
- Clinical Professor of Family Medicine Duquesne University College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Staff Physician East Liberty Family Health Care Center
- Associate Faculty Institute for Bioethics
Education and Training
- MATS, Westminster Theological Seminar, 2026
- MS, Geneva College, 2015
- MA-BE, Trinity International University, 2007
- MPH, University of Minnesota, 1991
- Academic Medicine and Clinical Investigation Fellowship, University of Minnesota, 1991
- General Preventive Medicine Residency, University of Minnesota, 1991
- Family Practice Residency, Grant Medical Center, 1989
- MD, The Ohio State University, 1986
- BA, Miami University, 1982
Professional Interests in Bioethics
- Vaccine policy, allocation, and rationing
- Public health ethics and the balance of individual autonomy with community protection
- Ethics of vaccine mandates and institutional vaccination policies
- Religious and moral concerns about vaccines, including fetal cell lines
- Health equity and disparities in vaccination access and uptake
- Reformed theology, doctrine of common grace, trust, expertise, science communication, and vaccine hesitancy
- • Surrogate decision making in advanced illness
Representative Publications
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Zimmerman RK. Measles, Mumps, and Rubella Diseases and MMR Vaccine for the Christian Healthcare Professional. Ethics & Medicine. 2025;41(3):Early Access. Measles, Mumps, and Rubella Diseases and MMR Vaccine for the Christian Healthcare Professional | Ethics & Medicine
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Zimmerman RK. Helping patients with ethical concerns about COVID-19 vaccines in light of fetal cell lines used in some COVID-19 vaccines. Vaccine. 2021;39(31):4242-4244. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.06.027.
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Zimmerman RK, South-Paul JE, Poland GA. Rationing of Civilian Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccines While Supplies Are Limited. Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2020;222(11):1776-1779. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiaa569.
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Zimmerman RK. Ethical analyses of institutional measures to increase health care worker influenza vaccination rates. Vaccine. 2013;31(52):6172-6176. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2013.10.066.
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Zimmerman RK. Rationing of influenza vaccine during a pandemic: ethical analyses. Vaccine. 2007;25:2019-2026. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2006.11.045.
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Zimmerman RK. Ethical analyses of vaccines grown in human cell strains derived from abortion: arguments and Internet search. Vaccine. 2004;22:4238-4244. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2004.04.034.
Awards and Honors
- Public Health Award, Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians, 2022
- MA in Bioethics, summa cum laude, Trinity International University, 2007
Media
- Autonomy, Expertise and Process: A Response to the August 2026 Executive Order
- Vaccines: The Science & Rebuilding Public Trust with Dr. Richard Zimmerman
- 2026 US Childhood Immunization Schedule Reduction and the Christian Clinician: A Bioethical Analysis of Process and Content
- Hepatitis B Vaccine and the Christian Clinician: A Bioethical Analysis of the Votes in December 2025 of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)