Dr. Jennifer Salerno’s areas of focus include chronic disease epidemiology in aging populations, causal models, clinical trials research, comparative effectiveness, health services research, and research ethics. She holds a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Toronto, MSc in Community Health and Epidemiology from Queen’s University, and Honours BSc from McMaster University’s Biology and Pharmacology Co-operative Program. She completed fellowship training at both the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute in the area of traumatic brain injury epidemiology and the U.S. National Institutes of Health (National Cancer Institute's Hormonal and Reproductive Epidemiology Branch) in the area of breast cancer epidemiology. Her previous research examined the epidemiology of brain injuries and related vascular dementias, and specifically, examined the etiology of cognitive function in aging populations using molecular/biochemical methods and advanced statistical models. She worked for several years as a clinical epidemiologist in the Government of Ontario (MOHLTC and Health Quality Ontario) where she performed several health technology assessments, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses. She also developed cancer clinical practice guidelines supporting Cancer Care Ontario's Cancer Imaging Program through McMaster's Program in Evidence-Based Care, Department of Oncology.
Currently, in the Department of Family Medicine at McMaster University as a Research Associate, she is involved in the TAPER clinical trial (TAPER: Team Approach to Polypharmacy Evaluation and Reduction) which aims to reduce multiple medication use and the harmful effects of polypharmacy among older adults. She supports clinical faculty research through Departmental mentoring initiatives and medical residents through the InQuiry curriculum. She is also involved in projects using the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) to examine the outcomes of polypharmacy.
As an Assistant Professor in Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact at McMaster University she teaches in the Health Research Methodology and eHealth programs.
She is also currently the Chair of the American College of Epidemiology (ACE) Ethics and Policy Committee. She has held numerous leadership positions in ACE and more recently, she is involved with the International Epidemiological Association as an Executive Council Member.
