Jane Zapka ScD

Dr. Jane Zapka grew up in the Pioneer Valley in the town of Hadley. She graduated from Skidmore College, received her Master of Science degree in Public Health and Community Health Education at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (UMass), and her Doctor of Science in Health Administration from the Harvard University School of Public Health. She served as University Health Services’ Public Health Educator for 11 years. After many years working at the UMass Medical School in Worcester she is now a Professor of Biostatistics, Bioinformatics, and Epidemiology at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. Dr. Zapka’s expertise is in primary care and prevention services, with a focus on program evaluation, quality improvement, managed care, and other health services research areas. She has participated in community-based projects, involving provider, patient, and public education for improving the quality of, and participation in, breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening. She is currently involved in studies of quality of care at the end of life, policy analysis of state tobacco legislation, and lifestyle interventions in the workplace to reduce obesity.