Child Health and Education Lab
Allison King, MD, MPH, PhD

Allison King, MD, PhD, directs the Child Health and Education Laboratory, which focuses on children with chronic illness, specifically those with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) or brain tumors. In addition, King currently directs the Heartland and Southwest Sickle Cell Disease Network, a partnership with SCD care providers and community organizations to improve overall care and quality of life in patients with SCD in an eight-state region that includes Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma.
Current research projects include:
- Environmental impact on children with chronic illness
- Studying the relationship between maternal mental health and child development among children with SCD
- Development and/or validation of assessments of participation and quality of life of infants and toddlers 0-48 months old
- Development and implementation of a transition program for adolescents with SCD
- Qualitative analysis of focus group sessions to better understand the needs of patients with SCD
- Assessing the effects of SCD on cognition, functional task performance, and health literacy in adolescents and adults
- Dissemination and implementation of standardized cognitive assessments for adolescents and young adults with SCD
- Investigating the consequences of hearing loss on cognitive late effects in brain tumor survivors
Student activities
Students are expected to complete at least one hypothesis-driven project focusing on either children or adults with SCD or children with brain tumors. Projects could be a retrospective study or a cross-sectional, prospective study. The results will focus on educational and functional outcomes. OTD students may publish a manuscript by the end of the final year. Most of the research will be completed at St. Louis Children’s Hospital or at the Program in Occupational Therapy building. Students may occasionally need to drive if their project involves home interviews or community education programs. Some studies may involve evening or weekend research.
Project examples
- Evaluate the effects of home environment and parental stress on developmental outcomes of children with SCD
- Develop relationships with community associations to address educational attainment for children with chronic diseases
- Assess effectiveness of an educational video about SCD
- Educate adolescents with chronic illnesses to improve independent living skills and facilitate transition from pediatric to adult health care and independent living
- Validate an activity card sort for infants and toddlers, 0-48 months old
- Assess cognition, functional task performance, and health literacy in adolescents and adults with SCD utilizing the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Toolbox, Weschler Abbreviated Scales of Intelligence (WASI-II), Executive Function Performance Test (EFPT) and Weekly Calendar Planning Activity (WCPA)
- Qualitative analysis of focus group interviews with patients and families dealing with SCD

Allison King, MD, MPH, PhD
Professor of Pediatrics, Hematology & Oncology
Researcher, Patient Oriented Research Unit
Professor, Education
Professor, Hematology
Professor, Occupational Therapy
Professor, Surgery
Director, Sickle Cell Disease Transition Program
Recent publications
- The Moderating Role of Motivation in the Real-Time Associations of Fatigue, Cognitive Complaints, and Pain With Depressed Mood Among Stroke Survivors: An Ecological Momentary Assessment StudyLau, S. C. L., Connor, L. T., Skidmore, E. R., King, A. A., Lee, J. M. & Baum, C. M., May 2023, In: Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 104, 5, p. 761-768 8 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Individual-level behavioral interventions to support optimal development of children with sickle cell disease: A systematic reviewHoyt, C. R., Hurwitz, S., Varughese, T. E., Yaeger, L. H. & King, A. A., Mar 2023, In: Pediatric Blood and Cancer. 70, 3, e30178.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
- Characterising the prevalence of overweight and obese status among adults with sickle cell diseaseSickle Cell Disease Implementation Consortium, Ibemere, S. O., Oyedeji, C. I., Preiss, L., Van Althuis, L. E., Hankins, J. S., Azul, M., Burns, E. N., Glassberg, J., Hagar, W., Hussain, F., King, A., Melvin, C., Myers, J., Snyder, A., Shah, N. & Tanabe, P., Mar 2023, In: British Journal of Haematology. 200, 5, p. 633-642 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Perspectives on How to Implement Developmental Screening and Intervention for Children With Sickle Cell DiseaseHoyt, C. R., Erickson, J., Luo, L., Varughese, T., Han, T., Housten, A. & King, A., 2023, (Accepted/In press) In: Journal of Early Intervention.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Organ function indications and potential improvements following curative therapy for sickle cell diseaseHulbert, M. L., King, A. A. & Shenoy, S., Dec 9 2022, In: Hematology (United States). 2022, 1, p. 277-282 6 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Translating research to usual care of children with sickle cell disease in Northern Nigeria: lessons learned from the SPRING Trial TeamBello-Manga, H., Haliru, L., Tabari, A. M., Farouk, B., Suleiman, A., Bahago, G. Y., Sani, A. M., Bauman, A. A., DeBaun, M. R. & King, A. A., Dec 2022, In: BMC Research Notes. 15, 1, 1.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- What does it mean to be affiliated with care? Delphi consensus on the definition of “unaffiliation” and “specialist” in sickle cell diseasethe Sickle Cell Disease Implementation Consortium, Nov 2022, In: PloS one. 17, 11 November, e0272204.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Neurocognitive functioning in children with sickle cell anemia and history of abnormal transcranial doppler ultrasonographyLongoria, J. N., Wang, W., Kang, G., Gossett, J., Krull, K., King, A. A., Raches, D., Schreiber, J., Heitzer, A. M. & Hankins, J. S., Nov 2022, In: Pediatric Blood and Cancer. 69, 11, e29943.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Multimodal Ambulatory Monitoring of Daily Activity and Health-Related Symptoms in Community-Dwelling Survivors of Stroke: Feasibility, Acceptability, and ValidityLau, S. C. L., Connor, L. T., King, A. A. & Baum, C. M., Oct 2022, In: Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 103, 10, p. 1992-2000 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- iTPP: nature vs nurture?Cole, O. & King, A. A., Sep 22 2022, In: Blood. 140, 12, p. 1329-1330 2 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial