Seif Laboratory Research Overview

The Seif Laboratory is engaged in studies to identify and address health disparities among children receiving cancer therapy. The team collaborates with patients and caregivers from minoritized communities to develop interventions to mitigate barriers to care and to reduce inequity.

Dr. Seif has used large datasets to investigate associations between social determinants of health and leukemia outcomes, including a recently published study on associations between area-based measures of social disorganization and rates of septic shock among children receiving care for AML. She is currently leading two arms of a study seeking to investigate health disparities in relapsed pediatric AML outcomes across 17 hospitals nationwide in collaboration with Dr. Aplenc.

The Seif Laboratory is currently piloting an evidence-based intervention to identify and care for select patients receiving chemotherapy for AML as outpatients, with an aim to implement this practice nationally, leveraging ongoing national collaborations. The team created a toolkit comprised of an assessment tool to guide discharge eligibility determinations, outpatient management guidelines, and other supporting documents. The pilot showed that this practice was safe, feasible for oncology staff, and satisfactory to patients and caregivers. This intervention saved hundreds of inpatient days for patients who were able to recover at home. The team are developing a protocol to implement this practice at collaborating sites.

Future studies will continue to focus on identifying and alleviating health disparities. The Seif Laboratory is also interested in collaborating with patients and caregivers to improve the clinical research consent process for children undergoing cancer therapy.