Tara C. Smith, Ph.D.
Biography
Dr. Smith joined the faculty of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø College of Public Health in August 2013. An Ohio native, she previously spent nine years in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Iowa College of Public Health, where she directed the College’s and attained the rank of associate professor with tenure. She completed post-doctoral training in molecular epidemiology at the University of Michigan prior to beginning her professorship at the University of Iowa. She obtained a Ph.D. at the University of Toledo and a B.S. in biology from Yale University.
Dr. Smith’s research generally focuses on (infections which are transferred between animals and humans). She was the first to identify livestock-associated strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in the United States, and has pioneered the investigation of this organism in the U.S. Dr. Smith has published over 80 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters. (Full publication list can be found at ; a full CV including presentations can be found ). She has received over $3 million in funding from AHRQ, USDA, and NIOSH to carry out these studies. She has presented her research at numerous national and international platforms, including talks on Capitol Hill on the topic of agriculture and antibiotic resistance. Her work has been profiled in many major publications, including , and , as well as in "" by Maryn McKenna and "" by Barry Estabrook.
Dr. Smith is also very active in science communication and outreach. She has maintained a , and has written books on , , and . A second book on Ebola, "," was published by MIT Press in 2016. She also writes about infectious disease for several national sites, pens a column for , and serves as a member of the advisory board of the . She lives in rural Ohio with her partner and her three children.
Scholarly, Creative & Professional Activities
Selected Publications, of 81 to date (full list is available at ):
Smith TC, Thapaliya D, Bhatta S, Mackey S, Engohang-Ndong J, Carrel M. . Microbes and Infection, 20(6):323-327, 2018.
Wardyn SE, Stegger M, Price LB, Smith TC. . Emerging Infectious Diseases, 24(1):153-154, 2018.
Smith TC. . Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 4(3):ofx146, 2017.
Thapaliya D, Dalman M, Kadariya J, Little K, Mansell V, Taha MY, Grenier D, Smith TC. . EcoHealth, 14(2):303-309, 2017.
Nair R, Wu J; Carrel M; O’Brien A; Quick M; Farina S; Wardyn S; Thapaliya D; Grenier D; Smith TC. . Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, 85(3):360-366, 2016.
Smith TC. . BMJ, 351:h6423 , 2015.
Wardyn SE, Forshey BM, Farina S, Kates AE, Nair R, Quick M, Wu J, Hanson BM, O’Malley S, Shows H, Heywood E, Beane-Freeman LE, Lynch CF, Carrel M, Smith TC. . Clinical Infectious Diseases, 61(1):59-66, 2015.
McDanel JS, Perencevich EN, Diekema DJ, Herwaldt LA, Smith TC, Chrischilles EA, Dawson JD, Jiang L, Goto M, Schweizer ML. . Clinical Infectious Diseases, 61(3):361-7, 2015.
Smith TC. . PLoS Pathogens, 11(2): e1004564, 2015.
Carrel M, Schweizer ML, Sarazin MV, Smith TC, Perencevich EN. . Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2014;35(2).
Nair R, Hanson BM, Kondratowicz K, Dorjpurev A, Davaadash B, Battumur E, Tundev O, Smith TC. . PeerJ, 1:e176, 2013.
Price LB, Stegger M, Hasman H, Aziz M, Andersen PS, Pearson A, Waters AE, Foster JT, Schupp J, Gillece J, Driebe E, Liu CM, Larsen J, Springer B, Zdovc I, Battisti A, Franco A, Żmudzki J, Schwarz S, Butaye P, Jouy E, Pomba C, Porrero C, Smith TC, Robinson AD, Weese JS, Keim P, Skov R, Aarestrup FM. . mBIO, 3(1):e00305-11, 2012.
Moritz ED, Smith TC. . Emerging Infectious Diseases, 17:742-3, 2011.
Smith TC, Harper A, Male M, Kroeger J, Tinkler G, Moritz-Korolev E, Herwaldt L, Diekema D. . PLoS ONE, 4(1):e4258, 2009.
COURSES TEACHING
Fall 2018
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PH 10000 Exploring Careers in Public Health
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PH 22001 Plagues and Pandemics
Spring 2019
- EPI 63015 Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases
- PH 10000 Exploring Careers in Public Health
Education
Expertise
Zoonotic diseases
Staphylococcus aureus
Bacterial ecology and antibiotic resistance
Zombies
Infectious Diseases
Antibiotic resistance
emerging diseases
rural communities
Global health
environmental contamination
bacterial contamination
bacterial evolution
bacterial epidemiology
vaccine hesitancy