David Zimmerman has had a varied career which has taken him through roles as a scientist, entrepreneur, consultant to Fortune 50 companies, and a technology transfer professional. He began his career as an experimental high-energy physicist. After working as a scientific researcher at several labs in the U.S. and abroad, he transitioned his career to entrepreneurship in a period where he held leadership positions in a series of startups before launching a new career in intellectual property commercialization. During this period, he obtained his J.D. and spent several years working at law firms as well as in in-house positions before moving into academic licensing at universities.