Tara C. Smith

Bio

Tara C. Smith is a Professor of Epidemiology at the Kent State University College of Public Health. Dr. Smith’s research generally focuses on zoonotic infections (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 100 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters and received 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. Dr. Smith is also very active in science communication and outreach. She maintained a science blog for 11 years, and has written about infectious disease for Quanta, SELF, Slate, MentalFloss, NBC Think, the Guardian, the Washington Post, and other sites.