Areas of Expertise
Jason Semprini earned his Ph.D. in Health Services and Policy from the University of Iowa College of Public Health. Following his Ph.D., he completed one year of postdoctoral training in the Iowa Cancer Registry. Previously, Semprini was a Susan G. Komen Cancer Disparities Scholar at the University of Chicago, where he earned his master’s in public policy with a certificate in Healthcare Administration and a certificate in Health Policy. Semprini has published his research in high-impact peer-reviewed journals and presented at national conferences. His research uses novel data linkages and causal inference methodologies to evaluate the impact of public health policies and practices on health outcomes and equity. A lifelong Iowan, Semprini is passionate about disseminating policy-relevant evidence to address critical health needs and improve the wellbeing of everyone in our state.
| Education: |
|---|
| Ph.D., Health Services and Policy, University of Iowa, 2023 |
| M.P.P. (Master’s in Public Policy), Certificates in Health Policy and Health Administration and Policy, University of Chicago, 2019 |
| B.Sc., Finance, Morningside College, 2009 |
| A.A., Accounting, Ellsworth Community College, 2007 |
Dr. Semprini’s research has focused on quantifying the effects of policies on health outcomes and equity. Specifically, he has evaluated state, federal and system-level policies for their impact on self-reported health, mental health outcomes, birth outcomes, cancer outcomes and more. Dr. Semprini has experience analyzing large nationally-representative survey data and population-based cancer registry data. He has begun to develop a research program evaluating public health responses to environmental impacts and implement policies to reduce the burden of cancer in Iowa.
Publications
Semprini J, Saulsberry L, Olopade OI. Socioeconomic and Geographic Differences in Mammography Trends Following the 2009 USPSTF Policy Update. JAMA Network Open. 2025;8(2):e2458141. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.58141
Pete, D., Farris, P.E., Adsul, P., Bea, J., Decker, D., Ingram, J., Semprini, J., Baker, H., Yellowhair, M., Blackwater, C., Dee, D., Briant, K., Parker, M., Zahnd, W., Nash, S. The inclusion of tribes and American Indian and Alaska Native People in State comprehensive cancer control plans. Cancer Causes Control (2025). doi.org/10.1007/s10552-025-01981-w
Gao, May Z., Oluwaseyi O. Awonusi, Shreya P. Ramkumar, Janine A. Myint, Justin M. Barnes, Jason Semprini, Eric Adjei Boakye, Rebecca L. Rohde, Gregory D. Zimet, and Nosayaba Osazuwa-Peters. “The Affordable Care Act and Change in Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine Uptake in the United States.” Vaccine. v50.126842. March 19, 2025. doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2025.126842
Semprini J., Zahnd W., Brandt H. What cancers explain the growing rural-urban gap in human papillomavirus-associated cancer incidence? Journal of Rural Health. 2025. doi.org/10.1111/jrh.12915
Semprini J. Declining Incidence of Childhood Cancers: An Updated Analysis of the National Childhood Cancer Registry Data (2018–2021). Pediatric Blood and Cancer. 2025. doi.org/10.1002/pbc.31506
Semprini J. How Did the COVID-19 Pandemic Change Cigarette Smoking Behavior? Registered Report Stage 2. Lifestyle Medicine. Vol 6(1). 29 November 2024. doi.org/10.1002/lim2.70005
Semprini J, Kiran M. Head and Neck Cancer Treatment Delays in 2021: Estimating Distributional Effects by Site, Surgery, and p16-positivity. Oral Oncology Reports. 2024. doi.org/10.1016/j.oor.2024.100682
Trentz, C., Engelbart, J., Semprini, J. et al. Evaluating machine learning model bias and racial disparities in non-small cell lung cancer using SEER registry data. Health Care Manag Sci. 2024. doi.org/10.1007/s10729-024-09691-6
Eric Anyimadu, Jacklyn Engelbart, Jason Semprini, et al. Racial Disparities in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Guideline Concordant Treatment Using SEER Data. JTO Clinical and Research Reports. 2024. doi.org/10.1016/j.jtocrr.2024.100747
Semprini J. The Burden of HPV-Associated Cancer in Rural America Beyond 2020. Rural and Remote Health 2024. doi.org/10.22605/RRH9281
Semprini J. Colorectal cancer in older adults after the USPSTF’s 2008 updated screening recommendation. Cancer Epi. 2024 Dec. Vol. 93. doi.org/10.1016/j.canep.2024.102677
Semprini J. Sex & marital differences in delayed pharyngeal cancer treatment before and after medicaid expansion. Oral Oncology Reports, Vol 12, Dec. 2024, 100653. doi.org/10.1016/j.oor.2024.100653
Semprini J, Lizarraga IM, Seaman AT, et al. Leveraging public health cancer surveillance capacity to develop and support a rural cancer network. Learn Health Sys. 2024;e10448. doi:10.1002/lrh2.10448
Schroeder MC, Semprini J, Kahl AR, Lizarraga IM, Birken SA, Wahlen MM, Johnson EC, Gorzelitz J, Seaman AT, Charlton ME. Geographic distance to Commission on Cancer-accredited and nonaccredited hospitals in the United States. Journal of Rural Health. 2024 Jul 4. doi.org/10.1111/jrh.12862
Semprini, J. How Did the COVID-19 Pandemic Change Cigarette Smoking Behavior?. [REGISTERED REPORT STAGE 1]. Lifestyle Medicine. 2024 Oct, e117. doi/10.1002/lim2.117
Semprini J. Explicit inference: A meta‐replication of SEER cancer registry research evaluating the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion. J Eval Clin Pract. 2024;1‐8. doi.org/10.1111/jep.14055
Jason Semprini, Khyathi Gadag, Gawain Williams, Aniyah Q. Muldrow, Whitney E. Zahnd; Rural-Urban Cancer Incidence and Trends in the United States, 2000-2019. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2024; doi.org/10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-24-0072
Semprini J. Incentivizing dental services in healthy behaviour Medicaid waivers. Community Dentistry & Oral Epidemiology. 2024;00:1-8. doi:10.1111/cdoe.12965
Semprini J. How did states in the United States adapt their cancer control plan in response to the COVID-19 pandemic? Public Health Challenges. 2024;e179. doi.10/1002/puh2.179
Semprini J, Reynolds J, Zahnd WE, Wehby G. Eliminating Medicaid dental benefits and early- stage oral cancer diagnoses. Cancer Med. 2024;13:e7061. doi:10.1002/cam4.7061
Semprini J, Pagedar NA, Boakye EA, Osazuwa-Peters N. Head and Neck Cancer Incidence in the United States Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. January 11, 2024. doi:10.1001/jamaoto.2023.4322
Semprini J. (2024). Late-Stage Oral Cancer Detection After California and Illinois Restored Medicaid Dental Benefits. OTO Open. https://doi.org/10.1002/oto2.111
Semprini, J., Ali, A., Benavidez, G. (2023). Medicaid Expansion and Uninsurance Rates in Historically Redlined Residential Census Tracts. Health Affairs. vol. 42, no. 10. 10.1377/hlthaff.2023.00400
Semprini, Jason. 2023. “ Medicaid expansions and private insurance “crowd-out” (1999–2019).” Social Science Quarterly. v. 104, no. 7. p. 1329–1342. doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.13318
Semprini, J., Ranganathan, R. (2023) The 2020 US cancer screening deficit and the timing of adults’ most recent screen: a population-based cross-sectional study. Family Medicine and Community Health 2023;11:e001893..doi.org/10.1136/fmch-2022-001893
Semprini, J., Kaskie, B. (2023) Autumn in New York: The case of long-term care facilities in the “Safe Staffing” lawsuit with less staffing but similar COVID-19 outcomes. The Gerontologist, 2023. doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnad118
Semprini, J. (2023). Examining the effect of Medicaid expansion on early detection of head and neck cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx by HPV-type and generosity of dental benefits. Cancer Reports. doi.org/10.1002/cnr2.1840
Semprini, J. and Williams, J. (2023) Community socioeconomic status and rural/racial disparities in HPV−/+ head and neck cancer. Technical Innovations & Patient Support in Radiation Oncology. Vol 26. doi.org/10.1016/j.tipsro.2023.100205
Semprini, J. (2023). Examining racial disparities in unemployment among health care workers before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. J Patient Cent Res Rev. 2023;10:136-41. aah.org/jpcrr/vol10/iss3/6/
Semprini, Jason. (2023). “Estimating the Within-Person Change in Dental Service Access Measures during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States.” International Journal of Dentistry doi: e5601447. doi.org/10.1155/2023/5601447
Semprini, J.T., Biddell, C.B., Eberth, J.M. et al. (2023). Measuring and addressing health equity: an assessment of cancer center designation requirements. Cancer Causes & Control. doi.org/10.1007/s10552-023-01680-4
Semprini, Jason, and Riley Samuelson. (2023). “Synthesizing 30-Years of Adult Medicaid Dental Policy Research: A Scoping Review to Identify Gaps and Opportunities.” Heliyon Cell Press 9 (2). doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13703
Semprini, Jason. (2023). “Examining the “Medicare Effect” on Distant-Stage Cancer Diagnoses by Site, Gender, and Rurality”. Journal of Scientific Innovation in Medicine. doi.org/10.29024/jsim.171
Semprini, J. (2022). Oral cancer screening prevalence in low-income adults before and after the ACA. Oral Oncology. 2022;134:106055. doi.org/10.1016/j.oraloncology.2022.106055
Semprini, J. (2022). How did the COVID-19 Pandemic impact self-reported cancer screening rates in 12 Midwestern states? Proc Obstet Gynecol. 2022;11(2): Article 2 [ 9 p.]. DOI: doi.org/10.17077/2154-4751.31732
Semprini J, Wehby G. (2022). Impact of Medicaid dental coverage expansion on self-reported tooth loss in low-income adults. J Am Dent Assoc. 2022 Sep;153(9):839-847. doi.org/10.1016/j.adaj.2022.03.003.
Semprini, J and Kaskie, B. (2022). Waiving Medicaid Regulations During a Public Health Crisis: Identifying Heterogeneous Effects of Suspending Pre-Admission Screening Requirements on COVID-19 Deaths. Journal of Long-Term Care, (2022), pp. 15–21. /doi.org/10.31389/jltc.90
Semprini, J. (2022). “Federalism and the Value of Institutional Experience During a National Disaster: Identifying Determinants of Rapid Emergency Medicaid Waiver Adoption During the Covid-19 Pandemic.” Inquiries Journal, 14(01). inquiriesjournal.com/a?id=1931
Semprini, Jason (2021) “Do Low Income Rural Adults have Access to More Innovative Medicaid Dental Policies? A Comparative Analysis.” Public Health Review, Vol. 4 No. 2 phr/article/view/4280
Semprini, Jason (2021) “Treating a Public Health Crisis for Rural Moms – A Comparative Analysis of Four Rural States Addressing Maternal Opioid Misuse with Medicaid Innovation Models,” Online Journal of Rural Research & Policy: Vol. 16: Iss. 2. doi.org/10.4148/1936-0487.1109
Semprini, Jason, Wei Lyu, Dan M. Shane, and George L. Wehby. (2020). “The Effects of ACA Medicaid Expansions on Health After 5 Years.” Medical Care Research and Review, 79 issue: 1, page(s): 28-35 doi.org/10.1177/1077558720972592.
Semprini, Jason (2020) “Expanding the Capacity of Rural Cancer Care With Teleoncology,” Online Journal of Rural Research & Policy: Vol. 15: Iss. 2. doi.org/10.4148/1936-0487.1101
Semprini, J. (2020). A systematic review on the health of African immigrants in the United States: Synthesizing recommendations for future research. International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, Vol. 16 No. 2, pp. 121-136.doi.org/10.1108/IJMHSC-02-2019-0021
Semprini, J., & Olopade, O. (2020). “Evaluating the Effect of Medicaid Expansion on Black/White Breast Cancer Mortality Disparities: A Difference-in-Difference Analysis”. JCO Global Oncology, 6. /doi.org/10.1200/GO.20.00068
- 2025 — NCI Early Investigator Advancement Program Associate
- 2024 — Oral Health Equity Research Award, American Association of Dental and Craniofacial Research
- 2024 — Best Abstract (Epidemiology and Health Services), International Association of Dental Research
- 2022 — Rural Health Award, University of Iowa
- 2022 — 2022 Thomas P. Gould Prize for Best Publication, Kansas State University
- 2022 — Bernstein Award for Health Policy, American Association of Dental and Craniofacial Research
- 2022 — GMaP Research Stimulus Grant, NCI
- 2022 — Data Intensive Workshop Scholarship, IPUMS
- 2022 — Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards for Individual Fellowships (F31), NIDCR
- 2019 — George Bugbee Program Advocacy Award, University of Chicago
- 2019 — Scholar in Training Award, American Association of Cancer Research
- 2018 — Quern Fellowship, University of Chicago
- 2018 — Cancer Disparities Scholarship, Susan G. Komen