Jennifer J. Semel, MD, is the Vice President of Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer of MedStar National Rehabilitation Network. Dr. Semel comes to MedStar Health from St Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson, New York, where she was Medical Director of the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation for more than 15- years.  During this time she also served as Professor and Chair of the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at SUNY at Stony Brook School of Medicine. 

Dr. Semel, a graduate of Brown University, received her medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and completed a dual residency program in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Pediatrics at the Rusk Institute at the New York University Medical Center. She is board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Pediatrics, as well as Hospice and Palliative Medicine.

Dr. Semel began her career with Children’s National Health System in Washington, D.C., as an attending physiatrist, while also coordinating pediatric residency rotations for MedStar NRH and Walter Reed Army Medical Center. During that time she also served as physician leader for Centers of Excellence in Complex Diseases and Neurosciences at Children’s, and then Division Chief for Rehabilitative Services.