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Laura A Siminoff

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Laura A Siminoff

  • College of Public Health

    • Social and Behavioral Sciences

      • Laura H. Carnell Professor

      • Professor

  • Fox Chase Cancer Center

      • Member, Cancer Prevention and Control

Biography

Dr. Laura A. Siminoff is an internationally renowned public health scientist and an expert in health communication and decision-making. She has conducted seminal research in assisting cancer patients to make informed treatment decisions, understanding the health burdens of family caregivers for late stage cancer patients, and examining the impact that communication plays in the production of health disparities. Dr. Siminoff is regarded as a preeminent researcher of determinants of consent to organ and tissue donation, and has developed interventions that help relieve the shortage of transplantable organs. More recently, she has led studies to understand the ethical and social implications of tissue donation for biobanking and genetic studies.

Dr. Siminoff served as dean of the College of Public Health at Temple University from 2014 to 2022. Originally trained as an anthropologist, her increasing interest in health care led her to pursue a PhD from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. Prior to coming to Temple, she was professor and founding chair of the Department of Social and Behavioral Health at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, and the associate director of cancer prevention and control at the Massey Cancer Center at Case Western Reserve University.

Dr. Siminoff continues to be an active investigator with grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Health Resources Services Administration, among others. Over the course of her career she has received approximately $40,000,000 in research funds as principal investigator and is the author of over 200 peer-reviewed and other articles and book chapters. In addition to her research, she is an enthusiastic and committed mentor and has assisted many graduate students, post-docs and junior faculty in launching their careers as independent investigators.

Education

  • BA, Anthropology, McGill University
  • MA, Anthropology, University of New Brunswick
  • PhD, Public Health, Johns Hopkins University

Curriculum Vitae 

Google Scholar: Laura A. Siminoff's Google Scholar profile

Labs: Siminoff Research Group

Courses Taught

Number

Name

Level

SBS 5500

Seminar in Current Issues in Public Health: Applied Qualitative Methods

Graduate

Selected Publications

Recent

  • Alolod, G.P., Litsas, D.C., & Siminoff, L.A. (2025). Reconsidering autonomy: Asian Americans' use of relational autonomy in organ donation decisions. BMC Med Ethics, 26(1), 41. England. 10.1186/s12910-025-01206-4

  • Houtven, C.H.V., Miller, K.E., James, H.J., Blunt, R., Zhang, W., Mariani, A.C., Rose, S., Alolod, G.P., Wilson-Genderson, M., Smith, V.A., Thomson, M.D., & Siminoff, L.A. (2025). Economic costs of family caregiving for persons with advanced stage cancer: a longitudinal cohort study. J Cancer Surviv, 19(1), 227-241. United States. 10.1007/s11764-023-01462-6

  • Siminoff, L.A., Wilson-Genderson, M., Chwistek, M., & Thomson, M.D. (2025). Cancer Caregiver Anxiety Over Time: The Influence of Palliative Care. J Palliat Care, 40(1), 51-57. United States. 10.1177/08258597241284287

  • Siminoff, L.A., Barker, K.L., Blunt, R., Litsas, D., Alolod, G.P., & Patel, J.S. (2024). Beliefs about COVID-19 testing and treatment: A national survey of Black and White adults. Public Health Pract (Oxf), 8, 100519. England. 10.1016/j.puhip.2024.100519

  • Siminoff, L.A., Wilson-Genderson, M., Chwistek, M., & Thomson, M. (2024). The cancer caregiving burden trajectory over time: varying experiences of perceived versus objectively measured burden. Oncologist, 29(7), 629-637. England. 10.1093/oncolo/oyae069

  • Thomson, M.D., Wilson-Genderson, M., & Siminoff, L.A. (2024). Cancer patient and caregiver communication about economic concerns and the effect on patient and caregiver partners' perceptions of family functioning. J Cancer Surviv, 18(3), 941-949. United States. 10.1007/s11764-023-01341-0

  • Rush, A., Weil, C., Siminoff, L., Griffin, C., Paul, C., Mahadevan, A., & Sutherland, G. (2024). The Experts Speak: Challenges in Banking Brain Tissue for Research. Biopreserv Biobank, 22(2), 179-184. United States. 10.1089/bio.2024.29135.ajr

  • Genderson, M.W., Thomson, M.D., & Siminoff, L.A. (2024). Where you begin is not necessarily where you end: the mental and physical health trajectories of cancer caregivers over time. Support Care Cancer, 32(4), 233. Germany. 10.1007/s00520-024-08437-y

  • Siminoff, L.A., Alolod, G.P., McGregor, H., Hasz, R.D., Mulvania, P.A., Barker, L.K., & Gardiner, H.M. (2024). Developing online communication training to request donation for vascularized composite allotransplantation (VCA): improving performance to match new US organ donation targets. BMC Med Educ, 24(1), 77. England. 10.1186/s12909-024-05026-9

  • Wilt, J.K., Siminoff, L.A., & Thomson, M.D. (2023). Pre-diagnosis Symptoms, Attributed Causes, and Healthcare Seeking Assets of Younger Colorectal Cancer Survivors. J Cancer Educ, 38(6), 1932-1938. England. 10.1007/s13187-023-02363-z

  • Siminoff, L.A., Wilson-Genderson, M., West, S.M., Hasz, R.D., Suplee, L., Clarke, J., Barker, K.L., & Mulvania, P.A. (2023). Messaging White and Black Next of Kin in Advance to Promote Authorization for Tissue Donation. Prog Transplant, 15269248231212922. United States. 10.1177/15269248231212922

  • Wilson-Genderson, M., Thomson, M.D., & Siminoff, L.A. (2023). Where you begin is not necessarily where you end: the mental and physical health trajectories of cancer caregivers over time. Res Sq. United States. 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3513142/v1

  • Litsas, D.C., Mulvania, P.A., Roth, S., & Siminoff, L.A. (2023). A Rapid Scoping Review of the Dual Advocacy Model for Donation Conversations. Prog Transplant, 33(3), 247-255. United States. 10.1177/15269248231189866

  • Thomson, M.D., Houtven, C.H.V., Xu, R., & Siminoff, L.A. (2023). The many "costs" of transportation: Examining what cancer caregivers experience as transportation obstacles. Cancer Med, 12(16), 17356-17364. United States. 10.1002/cam4.6351

  • Gardiner, H., Siminoff, L., Gordon, E.J., Alolod, G., Richardson, B., Schupler, M., Benitez, A., Hernandez, I., Guinansaca, N., Ramos, L., Bergeron, C.D., Pappaterra, L., Norden, R., & Daly, T. (2023). Direct and Indirect Effects of a Web-Based Educational and Communication Skills Intervention "Promotoras de Donación" to Increase Donor Designation in Latinx Communities: Evaluation Study. J Med Internet Res, 25, e37140. Canada. 10.2196/37140

  • Alolod, G.P., Gardiner, H.M., Blunt, R., Yucel, R.M., & Siminoff, L.A. (2023). Organ Donation Willingness Among Asian Americans: Results from a National Study. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities, 10(3), 1478-1491. Switzerland. 10.1007/s40615-022-01333-3

  • Zisman-Ilani, Y., Khaikin, S., Savoy, M.L., Paranjape, A., Rubin, D.J., Jacob, R., Wieringa, T.H., Suarez, J., Liu, J., Gardiner, H., Bass, S.B., Montori, V.M., & Siminoff, L.A. (2023). Disparities in Shared Decision-Making Research and Practice: The Case for Black American Patients. Ann Fam Med, 21(2), 112-118. United States. 10.1370/afm.2943

  • Siminoff, L.A., Alolod, G.P., Davis, E.E., McGregor, H.R., Litsas, D.C., Sarwer, D.B., Mulvania, P.A., Hasz, R.D., & Gardiner, H.M. (2022). Evaluation of an eLearning System to Train Health Professionals to Communicate about Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation with Donor Families. Prog Transplant, 32(3), 233-240. United States. 10.1177/15269248221107040

  • Siminoff, L.A., Chansiri, K., Alolod, G., & Gardiner, H.M. (2022). Culturally Tailored and Community-Based Social Media Intervention to Promote Organ Donation Awareness among Asian Americans: "Heart of Gold." J Health Commun, 27(7), 450-459. United States. 10.1080/10810730.2022.2119445

  • Thomson, M.D., Genderson, M.W., & Siminoff, L.A. (2022). Understanding cancer caregiver burden over time: Dyadic assessments of family cohesion, conflict and communication. Patient Educ Couns, 105(6), 1545-1551. Ireland. 10.1016/j.pec.2021.10.014

  • Chan, W., Pun, J., Dong, D., Siminoff, L., & Dumenci, L. (2022). Reliability and validity of the Cancer Health Literacy Test - Chinese versions: CHLT-30-Chinese and CHLT-6-Chinese. Asia Pac J Clin Oncol, 18(3), 279-286. Australia. 10.1111/ajco.13621

  • Thomson, M.D., Wilson-Genderson, M., & Siminoff, L.A. (2022). The presence of a secondary caregiver differentiates primary cancer caregiver well-being. Support Care Cancer, 30(2), 1597-1605. Germany. 10.1007/s00520-021-06544-8

  • Sarwer, D.B., Siminoff, L.A., Gardiner, H.M., & Spitzer, J.C. (2022). The psychosocial burden of visible disfigurement following traumatic injury. Front Psychol, 13, 979574. Switzerland. 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.979574

  • Gardiner, H.M., Davis, E.E., Alolod, G.P., Sarwer, D.B., & Siminoff, L.A. (2022). A mixed-methods examination of public attitudes toward vascularized composite allograft donation and transplantation. SAGE Open Med, 10, 20503121221125379. England. 10.1177/20503121221125379

  • Thomas, E.C., Suarez, J., Lucksted, A., Siminoff, L., Hurford, I., Dixon, L., O'Connell, M., & Salzer, M. (2022). Treatment decision-making needs among emerging adults with early psychosis. Early Interv Psychiatry, 16(1), 78-90. Australia. 10.1111/eip.13134

  • Jindra, P.T., Shah, M.B., Shafer, T.J., Buren, C.T.V., & Siminoff, L.A. (2021). Systemic Racism Harms Black Americans' Access to Kidney Transplantation and Full Participation in Organ Donation. Prog Transplant, 31(4), 394-397. United States. 10.1177/15269248211046000

  • Gordon, E.J., Gardiner, H., Siminoff, L.A., Kelly, P.J., Agu, C., Urbanski, M., Alolod, G.P., Benitez, A., Hernandez, I., Guinansaca, N., Winther, L.R., Bergeron, C.D., Kim, R., Montalvo, A., & Gonzalez, T. (2021). Donor Designation Among Mature Latinas and Lay Health Educators (Promotoras): A Mixed-Methods Study. Health Educ Behav, 48(6), 805-817. United States. 10.1177/1090198120976351

  • Thomas, E.C., Suarez, J., Lucksted, A., Siminoff, L.A., Hurford, I., Dixon, L.B., O'Connell, M., Penn, D.L., & Salzer, M.S. (2021). Facilitating treatment engagement for early psychosis through peer-delivered decision support: intervention development and protocol for pilot evaluation. Pilot Feasibility Stud, 7(1), 189. England. 10.1186/s40814-021-00927-8

  • Siminoff, L.A., Mash, D., Wilson-Genderson, M., Gardiner, H.M., Mosavel, M., & Barker, L. (2021). Making a family decision to donate the brain for genomic research: lessons from the genotype-tissue expression project (GTEx). Cell Tissue Bank, 22(3), 431-441. Netherlands. 10.1007/s10561-020-09890-9

  • Rogers, H., Dumenci, L., & Siminoff, L.A. (2021). Might physician-patient gender concordance influence clinical outcomes in primary care? Findings from a large unannounced standardized patient study. JOURNAL of PSYCHOSOMATIC RESEARCH, 145. 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2021.110460

  • Zisman-Ilani, Y., Siminoff, L.A., Savoy, M.L., Paranjape, A., Liu, J., Jacob, R.A., Gardiner, H.M., Bass, S.B., Montori, V.M., & Rubin, D.J. (2021). Unmet Communication Needs and Barriers of Black and African Americans with Type 2 Diabetes. DIABETES, 70. 10.2337/db21-519-P

  • Thomas, E.C., Bass, S.B., & Siminoff, L.A. (2021). Beyond rationality: Expanding the practice of shared decision making in modern medicine. Soc Sci Med, 277, 113900. England. 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.113900

  • Siminoff, L.A., Alolod, G.P., Gardiner, H.M., Hasz, R.D., Mulvania, P.A., & Wilson-Genderson, M. (2021). A Comparison of the Content and Quality of Organ Donation Discussions with African American Families Who Authorize and Refuse Donation. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities, 8(2), 485-493. Switzerland. 10.1007/s40615-020-00806-7

  • Siminoff, L.A., Alolod, G.P., Davis, E.E., Sarwer, D.B., & Gardiner, H.M. (2020). Vascularized composite allotransplantation: Knowledge and attitudes of a national sample of organ procurement organization professionals. Clin Transplant, 34(11), e14071. Denmark. 10.1111/ctr.14071

  • Siminoff, L.A., Wilson-Genderson, M., Barta, S., & Thomson, M.D. (2020). Hematological cancer patient-caregiver dyadic communication: A longitudinal examination of cancer communication concordance. Psychooncology, 29(10), 1571-1578. England. 10.1002/pon.5458

  • Goldberg, D., Doby, B., Siminoff, L., Shah, M., & Lynch, R. (2020). Rejecting bias: The case against race adjustment for OPO performance in communities of color. Am J Transplant, 20(9), 2337-2342. United States. 10.1111/ajt.15865

  • Siminoff, L.A., Gardiner, H.M., Alolod, G.P., & Wilson-Genderson, M. (2020). Using Online Communication Skills Training to Increase Organ Donation Authorization. Prog Transplant, 30(3), 212-219. United States. 10.1177/1526924820933846

  • DuBay, D., Morinelli, T., Redden, D., Rodrigue, J., Ivankova, N., Herbey, I., Holt, C., Siminoff, L., Fouad, M., Su, Z., & Martin, M. (2020). A Video Intervention to Increase Organ Donor Registration at the Department of Motorized Vehicles. Transplantation, 104(4), 788-794. United States. 10.1097/TP.0000000000002880

  • Siminoff, L.A., Bolt, S., Gardiner, H.M., & Alolod, G.P. (2020). Family First: Asian Americans' Attitudes and Behaviors Toward Deceased Organ Donation. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities, 7(1), 72-83. Switzerland. 10.1007/s40615-019-00635-3

  • Alolod, G.P., Gardiner, H., Agu, C., Turner, J.L., Kelly, P.J., Siminoff, L.A., Gordon, E.J., Norden, R., Daly, T.A., Benitez, A., Hernandez, I., Guinansaca, N., Winther, L.R., Bergeron, C.D., Montalvo, A., & Gonzalez, T. (2020). A Culturally Targeted eLearning Module on Organ Donation (Promotoras de Donación): Design and Development. J Med Internet Res, 22(1), e15793. Canada. 10.2196/15793