Toxicologist, Doctor, and Jazz Musician Steven Seifert Dies at 72

Seifert is well known for his clinical toxicology work, particularly his findings around snake envenomation and antivenoms.

Written byDan Robitzski

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Steven Seifert, a prolific toxicologist whose work offered insights into the properties and clinical treatment of venoms, died on May 18 at the age of 72. According to an announcement by his colleague, University of Arizona toxicologist Leslie Boyer, Seifert passed away peacefully from cancer-related complications.

Seifert was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1950. Boyer writes in an obituary published in Clinical Toxicology that he declared his interest in becoming a doctor at age three—and went on to earn a medical degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in 1976. That led to a 20-year career in emergency medicine, according to a tribute posted by a funeral home.

Following a toxicology fellowship at the University of Colorado Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center in 1999, Seifert pivoted to a clinical research career focused on envenomation, particularly snakebites, antivenom treatments, and the epidemiology of poisoning. After volunteering at ...

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Meet the Author

Dan Robitzski
Dan is an award-winning journalist based in Los Angeles who joined The Scientist as a reporter and editor in 2021. Ironically, Dan’s undergraduate degree and brief career in neuroscience inspired him to write about research rather than conduct it, culminating in him earning a master’s degree in science journalism from New York University in 2017. In 2018, an Undark feature Dan and colleagues began at NYU on a questionable drug approval decision at the FDA won first place in the student category of the Association of Health Care Journalists' Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. Now, Dan writes and edits stories on all aspects of the life sciences for the online news desk, and he oversees the “The Literature” and “Modus Operandi” sections of the monthly TS Digest and quarterly print magazine. Read more of his work at danrobitzski.com.
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