Barbara Zehentner

Chief Operating Officer, Molecular Testing Labs

I am passionate about best clinical science for our patients as well as best leadership practices for our teams! My career has been driven by implementing cutting-edge technologies and providing high-quality laboratory results to our patients and their providers.

My master’s and engineering degree (Dipl.-Ing.) in Biotechnology were received from the University of Applied Sciences (FH) in Weihenstephan, Germany, and my Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University RWTH in Aachen, Germany (Dr. rer. nat. with summa cum laude).
I have been certified as a high-complexity clinical laboratory director (HCLD) through the American Board of Bioanalysis in Molecular Diagnostics since 2008. In 2020 I received my master’s in business administration (MBA) through a WGU program for working professionals.

I have more than 25 years of experience in molecular diagnostics and assay development, previously also working for Boehringer Mannheim (Germany), Hoffmann-La Roche (Switzerland), and Roche Diagnostics (Germany) as well as for Corixa Corporation (Seattle, WA). During my 17-year leadership tenure at HematoLogics (Seattle, WA) serving as laboratory director as well as managing partner for the organization, I have established and grown clinical laboratory operations offering comprehensive molecular analysis, FISH, and cytogenetic testing services to complement flow cytometric analysis for diagnosing and monitoring hematopoietic malignancies.

To continue my clinical laboratory leadership journey, I joined MTL (Molecular Testing Labs) in August 2023 as the Chief Operating Officer.