Todd B. Seto, MD, MPH

Todd B. Seto, MD, MPH, is the Director of Academic Affairs and Research at The Queen’s Medical Center, and an associate professor and Vice Chair of Medicine at the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine. In 2022, Dr. Seto received funding from the FDA Office of Minority Health and Health Equity (OMHHE) to support a project titled, “Hispanic, black and pacific islandeR perspectives on COVID-19 oUtreach Strategies and patient centered outcomes (HeAR US).” Dr. Seto is one of the principal investigators for this project. HeAR US is a collaboration between seven sites, including University of Puerto Rico, Howard University, Meharry Medical College, University of Texas at Houston, Nova Southeastern University, Indiana University, and the University of Hawaii at Hilo.

The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected communities that are often the most difficult to reach. The principal investigators of the HeAR US collaborative are reaching out to community partners in order to listen to and learn what communication strategies are most effective to improve vaccination rates. Investigators also hope to learn the pathways for COVID-19 misinformation and the best approaches to provide trustworthy and timely information. The main goal of the project is to hear the voices from underrepresented Hispanic, Black, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities to inform existing communications. This input will also guide the development of culturally tailored COVID-19 communications and dissemination and implementation strategies.

For additional information, visit the Featured Research and Principal Investigators page.