Jason L. Salemi, PhD, MPH, FACE

Professor, Department of Epidemiology

Interim Chair, Department of Epidemiology

Concentration Lead, PhD Program, Epidemiology

Contact Info

• 13201 Bruce B. Downs Blvd.
  MDC56
  Tampa FL 33612
• Academic Email: jsalemi@usf.edu
• Academic Phone: (813) 974-9449
• View My C.V. | View My Website | View My Lab Site

Education

Biography

Dr. Salemi is a proud Tampeño and an accomplished triple alumnus of the University of South Florida (USF), having earned his BSc in Biology/Pre-Med Sciences in 2000, his MPH in 2005, and his PhD in Epidemiology in 2014, with concentrations in Biostatistics and Applied Biostatistics. He is blessed with a wonderful wife and son and a supportive network of family, friends, and colleagues. He is also blessed to do what he loves and truly practice his passion.

Interdisciplinary and Emerging Signature Programs

• Women & Children's Health

Research Interests

• Dr. Jason L. Salemi is a nationally recognized expert in birth defects surveillance, epidemiologic methods, and public health data systems. He has led or contributed to numerous state- and federally funded grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts, and is highly skilled in database development, data linkage, management, and analysis.
• In 2014, after completing his doctoral studies, he joined Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) in Houston, TX, as a tenure-earning Assistant Professor. During his tenure at BCM, he served as Director of Analytics for the Center for Primary Care and Population Health Research, Assistant Director of a HRSA-funded Postdoctoral Primary Care Research Fellowship, and Clinical Research Trainer for BCM's Center of Excellence in Training and Research.
• In 2020, Dr. Salemi returned to USF, where he continues to build productive relationships with colleagues in the College of Public Health and the Morsani College of Medicine. He is currently the Principal Investigator for the Birth Defects Surveillance Program, a collaboration among the CDC, the Florida Department of Health, and USF to enhance surveillance, research, education, prevention, and support activities through the Florida Birth Defects Registry.
• In 2020, as part of his commitment to serve the community, Dr. Salemi created a statewide interactive dashboard to track the pandemic in Florida. The dashboard gained national attention and, through 2024, served as a vital resource for researchers, data scientists, public officials, and citizens across the state.
• In 2021, selected as a Fellow of the American College of Epidemiology, an honor reserved for individuals who have made significant and sustained contributions to the profession.
• In 2022, awarded the Outstanding Research Achievement Award at USF.
• In 2025, received the Excellence in Teaching Award at USF and the Outstanding Mentorship Award from the American College of Epidemiology – a national honor recognizing his deep commitment to educational excellence and the professional development of students and early-career faculty.
• He has authored more than 215 peer-reviewed papers and hundreds of scientific abstracts and conference presentations.
• His expertise has been featured in over 500 local, national, and international media stories across print, television, radio, and podcasts, particularly regarding the role of high-quality data in understanding the pandemic's population impact.
• He has held multiple national leadership roles, including Chair of the Data Committee and the Surveillance Guidelines and Standards Committee for the National Birth Defects Prevention Network (NBDPN), where he also served as President in 2018. He is currently serving a 2024–2026 term on the NBDPN Board of Directors.
• Within the College, he has embraced leadership roles as Concentration Lead for the PhD Program in Epidemiology (2021–2025), elected President of the Faculty Assembly (2022–2025), and now as the inaugural Interim Chair of the Department of Epidemiology.
• Deeply passionate about teaching, mentoring, and advising, Dr. Salemi teaches epidemiologic methods and data management courses and serves as faculty advisor for the Epidemiology and Biostatistics Student Association (EBSA).
• Link to NCBI bibliography: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/jason.salemi.1/bibliography/public/

Recent Publications

• Salemi JL, Tanner JP, Kennedy S, Block S, Bailey M, Correia JA, Watkins SM, Kirby RS. A comparison of two surveillance strategies for selected birth defects in Florida. Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974). 127(4) : 391-400
• Salemi JL, Comins MM, Chandler K, Mogos MF, Salihu HM. A practical approach for calculating reliable cost estimates from observational data: application to cost analyses in maternal and child health. Applied health economics and health policy. 11(4) : 343-57, 2013.
• Salinas-Miranda AA, Nash MC, Salemi JL, Mbah AK, Salihu HM. Cutting-edge technology for public health workforce training in comparative effectiveness research. Health informatics journal. 19(2) : 101-15, 2013.
• Salemi JL, Tanner JP, Bailey M, Mbah AK, Salihu HM. Creation and Evaluation of a Multi-layered Maternal and Child Health Database for Comparative Effectiveness Research. Journal of registry management. 40(1) : 14-28, 2013.
• Salihu HM, August EM, Salemi JL, Weldeselasse H, Sarro YS, Alio AP. The association between female genital mutilation and intimate partner violence. BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology. 119(13) : 1597-605, 2012.
• Salihu HM, Connell L, Salemi JL, August EM, Weldeselasse HE, Alio AP. Prevalence and temporal trends of hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS co-infection during pregnancy across the decade, 1998-2007. Journal of women''s health (2002). 21(1) : 66-72, 2012.
• Nembhard WN, Salemi JL, Ethen MK, Fixler DE, Dimaggio A, Canfield MA. Racial/Ethnic disparities in risk of early childhood mortality among children with congenital heart defects. Pediatrics. 127(5) : e1128-38, 2011.
• Salemi JL, Tanner JP, Block S, Bailey M, Correia JA, Watkins SM, Kirby RS. The relative contribution of data sources to a birth defects registry utilizing passive multisource ascertainment methods: does a smaller birth defects case ascertainment net lead to overall or disproportionate loss? Journal of registry management. 38(1) : 30-8, 2011.
• Connell LE, Salihu HM, Salemi JL, August EM, Weldeselasse H, Mbah AK. Maternal hepatitis B and hepatitis C carrier status and perinatal outcomes. Liver international : official journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver. 31(8) : 1163-70, 2011.
• Tanner JP, Salemi JL, Hauser KW, Correia JA, Watkins SM, Kirby RS. Birth defects surveillance in Florida: infant death certificates as a case ascertainment source. Birth defects research. Part A, Clinical and molecular teratology. 88(12) : 1017-22, 2010.
• Gilboa SM, Salemi JL, Nembhard WN, Fixler DE, Correa A. Mortality resulting from congenital heart disease among children and adults in the United States, 1999 to 2006. Circulation. 122(22) : 2254-63, 2010.
• Salemi JL, Hauser KW, Tanner JP, Sampat D, Correia JA, Watkins SM, Kirby RS. Developing a database management system to support birth defects surveillance in Florida. Journal of registry management. 37(1) : 10-5; quiz 38-9, 2010.
• Nembhard WN, Salemi JL, Wang T, Loscalzo ML, Hauser KW. Is the prevalence of specific types of congenital heart defects different for non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black and Hispanic infants? Maternal and child health journal. 14(2) : 184-93, 2010.
• Nembhard WN, Wang T, Loscalzo ML, Salemi JL. Variation in the prevalence of congenital heart defects by maternal race/ethnicity and infant sex. The Journal of pediatrics. 156(2) : 259-64, 2010.
• Fixler DE, Nembhard WN, Salemi JL, Ethen MK, Canfield MA. Mortality in first 5 years in infants with functional single ventricle born in Texas, 1996 to 2003. Circulation. 121(5) : 644-50, 2010.
• Siegel EM, Salemi JL, Craft NE, Villa LL, Ferenczy AS, Franco EL, Giuliano AR. No association between endogenous retinoic acid and human papillomavirus clearance or incident cervical lesions in Brazilian women. Cancer prevention research (Philadelphia, Pa.). 3(8) : 1007-14, 2010.
• Siegel EM, Salemi JL, Villa LL, Ferenczy A, Franco EL, Giuliano AR. Dietary consumption of antioxidant nutrients and risk of incident cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. Gynecologic oncology. 118(3) : 289-94, 2010.
• Nembhard WN, Salemi JL, Ethen MK, Fixler DE, Canfield MA. Mortality among infants with birth defects: Joint effects of size at birth, gestational age, and maternal race/ethnicity. Birth defects research. Part A, Clinical and molecular teratology. 88(9) : 728-36, 2010.
• Nembhard WN, Salemi JL, Loscalzo ML, Wang T, Hauser KW. Are black and Hispanic infants with specific congenital heart defects at increased risk of preterm birth? Pediatric cardiology. 30(6) : 800-9, 2009.
• Salemi JL, Pierre M, Tanner JP, Kornosky JL, Hauser KW, Kirby RS, Carver JD. Maternal nativity as a risk factor for gastroschisis: a population-based study. Birth defects research. Part A, Clinical and molecular teratology. 85(11) : 890-6, 2009.
• Nielson CM, Schiaffino MK, Dunne EF, Salemi JL, Giuliano AR. Associations between male anogenital human papillomavirus infection and circumcision by anatomic site sampled and lifetime number of female sex partners. The Journal of infectious diseases. 199(1) : 7-13, 2009.
• Nembhard WN, Salemi JL, Hauser KW, Kornosky JL. Are there ethnic disparities in risk of preterm birth among infants born with congenital heart defects? Birth defects research. Part A, Clinical and molecular teratology. 79(11) : 754-64, 2007.
• Zesiewicz TA, Ward CL, Hauser RA, Salemi JL, Siraj S, Wilson MC, Sullivan KL. A pilot, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of pregabalin (Lyrica) in the treatment of essential tremor. Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society. 22(11) : 1660-3, 2007.