Robert Eugene Zipf Jr., MD

Retired since 2011, Robert Eugene Zipf Jr., MD led an honorable career as a clinical and forensic pathologist, medical laboratory director, legal medicine consultant and educator. Prior to his retirement, he had been aligned with Nash General Hospital from 1978 to 2006 as the director of clinical and diagnostic laboratories, in which he also served as a regional forensic pathologist in North Carolina simultaneously. Additionally, between 1978 and 2005, Dr. Zipf held the title of president of R.E. Zipf Pathology Associates in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, a consulting company that specialized in providing services in the areas of medical forensics, laboratory management and laboratory software for a multitude of public and private corporations.

Earlier, Dr. Zipf gained vast experience as the director of forensic pathology at Duke University Health System from 1967 to 1972, where he also served as an assistant professor of pathology. Subsequently, he was recruited as the director of radioisotope pathology at Riverside Methodist Hospital, OhioHealth, in Columbus, Ohio, and as a forensic pathologist and deputy coroner for Franklin County, Ohio in 1974. Alongside his primary positions, Dr. Zipf also excelled in the educational setting as a clinical assistant professor in the school of medicine at East Carolina University from 1979 to 1989. He had also been an adjunct professor in the school of medical technology at Atlantic Christian College, which is now Barton College, and school director between 1980 and 1989 and from 1983 to 1989, respectively.

To prepare for his career in the medical field, Dr. Zipf earned a Bachelor of Arts at DePauw University in 1962 and obtained a Doctor of Medicine at The Ohio State University in 1966. Notably, he served in the U.S. Air Force from 1967 to 1974. Additional educational pursuits to his credit include an internship at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio, followed by additional training in pathology at Duke University Health Systems. Today, Dr. Zipf is board certified in anatomic, clinical and forensic pathology. He was inspired to pursue medicine by his late father, who was a physician.

Finding great success throughout the course of his career, Dr. Zipf was recognized in 2021 by North Carolina Wesleyan College with an Honor for Service and the college notably named its learning center, The Zipf Learning Center, after his family in 2021. He also received the President’s Cup for Services by Nash Community College in 2019. His additional achievements include providing medical, legal and medical information services for attorneys, law enforcement agencies, hospitals and healthcare information corporations.

To remain aware of changes in the medical field, Dr. Zipf has been a member of several industry-related organizations, as he has sat on the board of directors of the Nash Community College since 2015, the North Carolina Department of Justice forensic advisory board since 2012, and the North Carolina Wesleyan College board of trustees since 2005. He is also an active member of the Nash Chamber of Commerce, an advisor for the Zipf Charitable Trust and Fund and continues to support the Boy Scouts of America as an Eagle Scout leader.