David Seifer, MD
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About
Titles
Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences
Fellowship Director, Reproductive Endocrinology & InfertilityBiography
I am very pleased to be part of the Yale Fertility Center. I look forward to providing the best clinical experience for each of my patients while utilizing one of the most advanced reproductive facilities in the U.S. My approach is to provide the most compassionate and contemporary infertility services available to meet the individual needs and personal values of my patients. Areas of special clinical interest include optimizing age-related infertility, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, male factor infertility, recurrent pregnancy loss, polycystic ovarian syndrome and fertility preservation. I am also the Program Director of the Yale REI Fellowship responsible for the mentoring, advanced training and organizing of post-graduate physicians who become board eligible in this sub-specialty after their 3 year experience at Yale.
My research includes the mechanisms of reproductive aging. This work has led to a simple blood test, antimullerian hormone (AMH), used worldwide today that helps determine the health of a woman’s ovaries, a rough estimate of her egg count and real time assessment of her biological clock. To learn more read: https://www.yalemedicine.org/stories/fertility-test/. or https://medicine.yale.edu/news/yale-medicine-magazine/overcoming-infertility/ or https://medicine.yale.edu/news/yale-medicine-magazine/a-grand-challenge-slowing-the-biological-clock/.
Recently, co-edited a book entitled "Optimizing the Management of Fertility in Women Over 40" published by Cambridge University Press in 2022.
Currently, I am co-editing a book entitled "Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Fertility and Assisted Reproduction" to be published by Springer scheduled for publication in Winter of 2025.
Recent publications:
Complete list of Published Work:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/collections/mybibliography/
Seifer DB. A modern-day litmus test for the sustainability of daily IVF practice - Alabama supreme court ruling overreaches in asserting that frozen embryos are legally children. Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2024 Mar 21;22(1):33. doi: 10.1186/s12958-024-01201-1. PubMed PMID: 38509519; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10956278.
Seifer DB, Richard-Davis G, Alvero R. Closing the gap on racial disparities-Increasing race and ethnicity demographics reporting in the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology Clinic Outcome Reporting System Registry. Fertil Steril. 2024 Feb 10;. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2024.02.012. PubMed PMID: 38346548.
Seifer DB, Wang SF, Frankfurter D. Cumulative live birth rates with autologous oocytes plateau with fewer number of cycles for each year of age > 42. Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2023 Oct 23;21(1):94. doi: 10.1186/s12958-023-01144-z. PubMed PMID: 37872609; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10591412
Volovsky M, Seifer DB. State insurance mandates are necessary but not sufficient for closing the racial and ethnic disparity gap in assisted reproductive technology. Fertil Steril. 2024 Jan;121(1):46-47. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2023.10.003. Epub 2023 Oct 8. PubMed PMID: 37816429.
Li HJ, Seifer DB, Tal R. AMH independently predicts aneuploidy but not live birth per transfer in IVF PGT-A cycles. Reprod Biol Endocrinol 2023, 21: 19. PMID: 36739415, DOI: 10.1186/s12958-023-01066-w.
Correia KFB, Kraschel K, Seifer DB. State Insurance Mandates for in Vitro Fertilization are not Associated with Improving Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Utilization and Treatment Outcomes. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2022 Nov 7;. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2022.10.043. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 36356698.
Esencan E, Beroukhim G, Seifer DB. Age-related changes in Folliculogenesis and potential modifiers to improve fertility outcomes - A narrative review. Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2022 Nov 17;20(1):156. doi: 10.1186/s12958-022-01033-x. Review. PubMed PMID: 36397149; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9670479.
Curchoe CL, Tarafdar O, Aquilina MC, Seifer DB. SART CORS IVF registry: looking to the past to shape future perspectives. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2022 Oct 21;. doi: 10.1007/s10815-022-02634-6. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 36269502.
Peipert BJ, Montoya MN, Bedrick BS, Seifer DB, Jain T. Impact of in vitro fertilization state mandates for third party insurance coverage in the United States: a review and critical assessment. Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2022 Aug 4;20(1):111. doi: 10.1186/s12958-022-00984-5. Review. PubMed PMID: 35927756; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9351254
Reprod Sci. 2022 Jul;29(7):2084-2088.
Fertil Steril. 2022 Feb;117(2):326-338.
Connecting the dots between oocyte quantity and quality in diminished ovarian reserve. Fertil Steril. 2021 Apr;115(4):890.
AMH Highly Correlates with Cumulative Live Birth Rate in Women with Diminished Ovarian Reserve Independent of Age. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2021 Mar 17;. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgab168. [Epub ahead of print]
Psychological experience and coping strategies of patients in the Northeast US delaying care for infertility during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2021 Feb 23;19(1):28.
Status of racial disparities between black and white women undergoing assisted reproductive technology in the US. Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2020 Nov 19;18(1):113.
The association between anti-Müllerian hormone and vitamin 25(OH)D serum levels and polycystic ovarian syndrome in adolescent females. Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2020 Nov 21;18(1):118.
Kotlyar A, Seifer DB. Anti-Mullerian hormone as a qualitative marker- or just quantity? Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol 32:219-226, 2020.
Seifer DB, Kallen AN. A counterintuitive lesson in family planning? Patience first: taking a gap year after live birth from assisted reproductive technology before frozen embryo transfer is performed. Fertil Steril 111:1109-1110, 2019.
Tal R, Seifer DB, Wantman E, Baker VL, Tal O. AMH as predictor of live birth following assisted reproductive technology: analysis of 85,062 fresh and thawed cycles from the SART COR database for 2012-2013. Fertil Steril. 109:258-265, 2018.
Kushnir VA, Seifer DB, Barad DH, Sen A, Gleicher N. Potential therapeutic applications of human anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) analogues in reproductive medicine. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2017 Sep;34(9):1105-1113.
Seifer DB, Tal O, Wantman E, Edul P, Baker VL. Prognostic indicators of ART outcomes of cycles with ultra-low serum antimüllerian hormone (AMH): a multivariate analysis of over 5000 autologous cycles from the SART CORS database for 2012-2013. Fertil Steril 105:385-93, 2016.
Seifer DB, Tal R (ed): Anti-Mullerian Hormone: Biology, Role in Ovarian Function and Clinical Significance. New York, Nova Science, 2016.
I also have had a research focus in population-based health outcomes research to gain better understanding of the trends of reproductive aging, health care disparities in IVF, vitamin D deficiency in reproductive health and a global improvement in the clinical practice of reproductive medicine. This has been achieved through collaborative studies and analysis of large clinical data sets from well characterized populations through the Assisted Reproductive Technologies Clinical Outcomes Reporting System (SART CORS), the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS), the National Assisted Reproductive Technology Surveillance System (NASS) registries and the Reproductive Medicine Network (RMN).
Recent publications:
Zagadailov P, Seifer DB, Shan H, Zarek SM, Hsu AL. Do state insurance mandates alter ICSI utilization? Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2020 Apr 25;18(1):33. (NASS database)
Butts SF*, Seifer DB*, Koelper N, Senapati S, Sammel MD, Hoofnagle AN, Kelly A, Kraetz SA, Santoro N, Zhang H, Diamond MP, Legro RS. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with poor ovarian stimulation outcome in PCOS but not unexplained infertility. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 2019 Feb 1;104(2):369-378. (RMN database) *co-first authors
Luke B, Brown MB, Wantman E, Seifer DB, Sparks AT, Lin PC, Doody KJ, Van Voorhis BJ, Spector LG. Risk of prematurity and infant morbidity and mortality by maternal fertility status and plurality.J Assist Reprod Genet. 2019 Jan;36(1):121-138. doi: 10.1007/s10815-018-1333-z. (SART CORS database linked with birth and death certificate database in 14 Departments of Health)
Luke B, Brown MB, Wantman E, Doody K, Seifer DB, Spector LG. Risk of severe maternal morbidity maternal age, fertility status, plurality and mode of delivery: A US study in eight states. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2018 Oct 12. pii: S0002-9378(18)30894-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2018.10.012. (SART CORS database linked with birth certificate database in 8 Departments of Health)
Zagadailov P, Hsu A, Stern JE, Seifer DB. Temporal differences in utilization of intracytoplasmic sperm injection among U.S. regions. Obstet Gynecol. 2018 Aug;132(2):310-320. (NASS database)
Xu J, Lawson MS, Xu F, Du Y, Tkachenko OY, Bishop CV, Pejovic-Nezhat L, Seifer DB, Hennebold JD. Expression of vitamin D biosynthesis and signaling system in the rhesus macaque ovary: a role for regulating follicular development. Front Physiol 14;9:1600, 2018.
I am a past-president of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART), the primary, national organization that sets clinical and laboratory guidelines as well as the standards for safety and quality metrics for the practice of IVF in the US. As such, I am interested in using patient-physician advocacy to move toward expanding insurance coverage for infertility treatment for those who are without such benefits as well as moving toward strategies of closing the gap in disparities of access and outcomes in the utilization of IVF. I am also actively encouraging and mentoring young Yale faculty to bring their energy and insight to a national level within SART.
Recent publication:
Seifer DB, Wantman E, Sparks AE, Luke B, Doody KJ, Toner JP, van Voorhis BJ, Lin PC, Reindollar RH. National survey of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology membership regarding insurance coverage for assisted reproductive technologies. Fertil Steril. 2018 Nov;110(6):1081-1088.
As Co-Editor-in- Chief of Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology (RB&E) https://rbej.biomedcentral.com/ I am actively involved in encouraging the publication of quality and novel research in the reproductive sciences.
Appointments
Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences
ProfessorPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Fertility Center
- Fertility Preservation Program
- In Vitro Fertilization Program
- Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences
- Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility
- Yale Medicine
Education & Training
- MD
- University of Illinois - Chicago, Medicine (1981)
Research
Overview
The major focus of my research effort has been ovarian follicular aging. This effort has been directed to developing new, novel diagnostic methods and treatment. For the last two decades, I focused on the discovery of novel granulosa cell proteins and defining their respective roles in the function of the normal aging human preovulatory follicle. This research led to two translational advances. The first has been a better understanding of the aging granulosa cell and in turn, the aging ovarian follicle responsible for diminished reproductive function. This fundamental information has allowed greater insight into cellular and molecular events that precede the perimenopausal transition. The second advancement has been the clinical use of granulosa cell proteins as serum markers (specifically, inhibin-b and anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH), which provide patients and clinicians with an assessment of a woman’s real-time egg count prior to choosing an infertility treatment. Over time AMH moved from a scientific curiosity to a daily diagnostic test, to becoming utilized in a therapeutic fashion to help determine a physician's choice of initial and ongoing fertility treatment. In addition, AMH is now being used to anticipate the onset of menopause, is clinically useful in making the diagnosis of polycystic ovarian syndrome and is a diagnostic marker in a number of other clinically important areas of reproductive medicine including oncofertility, fertility preservation and family planning. Interest is now being directed to exploring the production of AMH analogues for potential therapeutic applications.
I have also worked with collaborators investigating a family of ovarian growth factors, known as neurotrophins, that we discovered to be present in the adult human preovulatory follicle. The family of neurotrophins include brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), neurotrophin-4/5 (NT-4/5), neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), and nerve growth factor (NGF). We have utilized both human and mouse models to investigate the neurotrophin site of secretion and potential function in promoting oocyte maturation as well as their basic roles in ovarian physiology. These studies indicate that neurotrophins, if not obligatory, facilitate regulation of oocyte physiology, including oocyte development within the preovulatory follicle. Our basic research shows promise of translational applications in both in vitro maturation of immature oocytes and in pathophysiologic conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome. These findings may eventually lead to new opportunities for treatment of infertility and to improved methods contraception.
I have also been privileged to participate in health outcomes research for the last 10 years, studying health care disparities as it relates to IVF success. Initial studies were directed at investigating if there were differences in outcomes based on ethnicity/race. We found that race and ethnicity are important correlates of IVF outcomes. Follow up studies examined if there were real trends in these disparities over time. Further investigation was directed to trying to understand possible reasons for such differences. The relative contributions of several presumptive reasons were explored. They included biological (pathology, genetic, AMH, BMI), environmental (vitamin D deficiency, smoking, toxins) and socio-cultural reasons. This has also lead to studying the impact of race and ethnicity on female reproductive aging. Our ultimate goal of identifying racial disparities in reproductive outcomes is to isolate the basic determinants of these disparities and formulate strategies to improve outcomes.
Another area of sustained interest has been in the role vitamin D impacts female reproduction. Focusing on the mechanisms by which vitamin D levels may influence folliculogenesis in the context of specific types of infertility.
Academic Achievements and Community Involvement
Clinical Care
Overview
As a reproductive endocrinologist and infertility specialist, David B. Seifer, MD, sees himself as a liaison. His goal is to help his patients choose the right medical approach, while respecting their personal values.
“When I first meet with a couple or an individual, we talk. Over the course of an hour, I get an idea of their world view, how they envision their future and their hopes for a family,” Dr. Seifer says. “I then figure out how to apply the technology we have at our disposal to their individual needs. That might mean egg freezing for women who are concerned about future fertility but aren’t ready to conceive now. We also have egg donor and surrogate options for women of advanced maternal age or for same-sex couples.”
Dr. Seifer says he was drawn to the field of obstetrics and gynecology in medical school. “It was an epiphany when I realized how appreciative patients were,” he says. “To have someone let you into their life during such an important time, and to be able to make an impact, is such a joy.”
The dawn of in vitro fertilization (IVF) was occurring around the time Dr. Seifer completed his medical degree. “There was such excitement, like science fiction becoming a reality,” he says. “It’s a convergence of technology and biology, and I was excited to practice it and help build families.”
Plus, he enjoys working with patients who are as motivated as he is to reach a successful outcome. “Everybody is moving in the same direction,” says Dr. Seifer, who primarily sees patients in Yale Fertility Center’s Orange office, which he describes as a comfortable, calming place. “We take care of everything that may seem daunting in an efficient, relaxed way.”
Dr. Seifer’s research include the mechanisms of reproductive aging. In fact, his research led to a simple blood test used worldwide today that helps determine the health of a woman’s ovaries and a rough estimate of her egg count. He is also president of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology, the primary, national organization that sets clinical and laboratory guidelines and standards for safety and quality metrics for the practice of IVF.
Clinical Specialties
Fact Sheets
In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)
Learn More on Yale MedicineFemale Infertility
Learn More on Yale MedicineSurrogacy
Learn More on Yale MedicineFertility Preservation
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Yale Medicine News
Links & Media
News
- May 02, 2024
15 Yale Ob/Gyn Physicians Named "Top Doctors" For 2024
- October 01, 2019Source: Yale Medicine Magazine
Overcoming Infertility
- September 24, 2019
Overcoming infertility
- September 24, 2019
A grand challenge: slowing the biological clock
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