Tara C. Smith
Tara C. Smith is an American epidemiologist and science communicator. She is a professor at the Kent State University College of Public Health who studies zoonotic infections. Smith was the first to identify strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus associated with livestock in the United States.
Tara Smith | |
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Alma mater | University of Toledo Yale University |
Scientific career | |
Institutions | University of Iowa Kent State University |
Website | taracsmith.com/ |
Early life and education
Smith has a Bachelor of Science in biology from Yale University.[1][2] She earned her PhD in microbiology at the University of Toledo, where she investigated Streptococcus pyogenes.[1][2][3] She completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in infectious disease epidemiology at the University of Michigan.[2]
Career
In 2004 Smith joined the University of Iowa College of Public Health.[4] She has received over $3 million in research funding, primarily from Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, United States Department of Agriculture and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.[4][5]
Smith identified that 45% of pig farmers and 49% of hogs farmers carried Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).[6][7][8] She went on to identify that almost 40% of people with MRSA contain the strain associated with livestock.[9][10] The work was described as one of the most comprehensive investigations into the spread of MRSA by the journal Nature.[11] She is distinguishing the Staphylococcus aureus strains around Iowa City, by characterizing the DNA around several places in the genome.[11] She compared strains related to ST398, a sequence type that is associated with livestock but not expected to cause infection, from around the world.[12] She found that meat that is sold with the claim it contains no antibiotics contains the highest levels of the garden-type of S. aureus.[13] Her research has been covered by The New York Times.[6] Smith has also studied and written about vaccine hesitancy.[14]
She joined the Kent State University College of Public Health in 2013 as an associate professor.[4][14] In 2015 Smith was appointed an American Society for Microbiology Distinguished Lecturer.[15] In 2017 she became a full professor at Kent State.[14] Her light-hearted Christmas contribution[16] to the British Medical Journal on the likelihood of a Zombie apocalypse was covered extensively in the mainstream media.[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] Following the Zika virus outbreak, Smith wrote several articles to provide advice for members of the public.[26][27] She went on to use zombies to demonstrate how diseases were spread.[28][29][30] Smith has written books on Ebola virus, Streptococcus pyogenes and S. agalactiae.[31][32][33][34]
In late February 2020 the Wall Street Journal called her "a prominent infectious-disease specialist" when reporting on her tweet[35] criticizing the White House's attempt to control messaging about the novel coronavirus outbreak.[36]
Public engagement
Smith takes part in several initiatives to improve the public understanding of science.[37] She writes a regular column for Self.[2] She has been writing the popular science blog Aetiology since 2005, and was one of the first scientists to start blogging.[38] Her research has appeared in the popular science books Pig Tales: An Omnivore's Quest for Sustainable Meat and Superbug: the Fatal Menace of MRSA.[39][40] She has featured on podcasts, including Science for the People, Talk Nerdy and the Meet the Microbiologist podcast of the American Society for Microbiology.[41][42][43][44] She has been interviewed by Gizmodo, New Statesman and the Los Angeles Times.[45][46][47]
Personal life
Smith lives with her partner and three children in rural Ohio.[2]
References
- "186: Dr. Tara Smith: Resistance on the Rise: Researcing the Arms Race of Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria and Potential Transfers from Livestock to Humans - People Behind the Science Podcast". www.peoplebehindthescience.com. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- "Tara C. Smith, Ph.D. Latest Articles". SELF. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
- "Speakers | The Eagleson Institute". www.eagleson.org. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- "Tara C. Smith, Ph.D. | Kent State University". www.kent.edu. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- "Grants and Projects". Tara C. Smith, PhD. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- Kristof, Nicholas. "Opinion | Our Pigs, Our Food, Our Health". Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- Mole, Beth (8 May 2015). "Pig farm workers at greater risk for drug-resistant staph". Science News. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- "Hog farmers more likely to carry drug-resistant bacteria, study says". Fox News. 4 May 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- Bittman, Mark. "Breeding Bacteria on Factory Farms". Opinionator. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- Smith, Tara C.; Gebreyes, Wondwossen A.; Abley, Melanie J.; Harper, Abby L.; Forshey, Brett M.; Male, Michael J.; Martin, H. Wayne; Molla, Bayleyegn Z.; Sreevatsan, Srinand (2013). "Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in pigs and farm workers on conventional and antibiotic-free swine farms in the USA". PLOS ONE. 8 (5): e63704. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...863704S. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0063704. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 3646818. PMID 23667659.
- Mole, Beth (24 July 2013). "MRSA: Farming up trouble". Nature. 499 (7459): 398–400. Bibcode:2013Natur.499..398M. doi:10.1038/499398a. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 23887415.
- Price, Lance B.; Stegger, Marc; Hasman, Henrik; Aziz, Maliha; Larsen, Jesper; Andersen, Paal Skytt; Pearson, Talima; Waters, Andrew E.; Foster, Jeffrey T. (1 March 2012). "Staphylococcus aureus CC398: Host Adaptation and Emergence of Methicillin Resistance in Livestock". mBio. 3 (1): e00305–11. doi:10.1128/mBio.00305-11. ISSN 2150-7511. PMC 3280451. PMID 22354957.
- "Concerns growing over superbugs in our food". msnbc.com. 15 July 2009. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- ORCID. "Tara C. Smith (0000-0003-3747-1116)". orcid.org. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
- "American Society for Microbiology Distinguished Lecturers: 1992 - Present" (PDF). American Society for Microbiology. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- Smith, Tara C. (2015-12-14). "Zombie infections: epidemiology, treatment, and prevention". BMJ. 351: h6423. doi:10.1136/bmj.h6423. ISSN 1756-1833. PMID 26668070.
- "Zombie epidemics are a 'looming threat', science journal warns". Metro. 16 December 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- "British Medical Journal Releases Study Revealing How To Stop A Zombie Virus Outbreak". IFLScience. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- "PODCAST: Dr. Tara Smith Joins Houston's Morning News | KTRH". KTRH. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- "More Research Needed to Prevent 'Zombie Apocalypse'". Newsweek. 17 December 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- Liotta, Paul. "The British Medical Journal publishes report on the risk of a zombie outbreak - NY Daily News". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- "Zombie apocalypse study makes top scientific journal". Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- "Suis-je en train de me transformer en zombie? Le British Medical Journal répond". RTBF Info (in French). 15 December 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- Martin, Sean (14 December 2015). "Are we prepared for the Zombie apocalypse? Experts call for more preventative action". International Business Times UK. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- "Apocalypse now: Zombies as teachers". ASU Now: Access, Excellence, Impact. 21 April 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- "UPDATE: Zika and Pregnancy - What You Need To Know | The Scientific Parent". The Scientific Parent. 21 March 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- "Scientists Get Closer to a Zika Vaccine". 28 June 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- "Zombies go academic as Kent State University prof explains how infectious diseases spread". cleveland.com. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- "Why are scientists so obsessed with studying zombies?". Popular Science. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- Winternitz, Abigail. "Zombie outbreak infiltrates health professor's lesson plan". KentWired.com. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- Smith, Associate Professor Tara C.; Heymann, David (1 August 2007). Ph.D, Edward I. Alcamo (ed.). Streptococcus. New York: Chelsea House Publications. ISBN 9780791092439.
- results, search; Heymann, David (1 June 2010). Streptococcus (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Chelsea House Pub. ISBN 9781604132519.
- results, search; Heymann, David L. (1 November 2010). Hilary, M. D. Babcock (ed.). Ebola and Marburg Virus (2nd ed.). New York: Chelsea House Pub. ISBN 9781604132526.
- Press, The MIT. "Ebola's Message". The MIT Press. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
- Smith, Dr Tara C. (27 February 2020). "Not good at all. I understand government workers often have to go through layers of approval, but 1) this is an urgent situation and 2) they know way more than Pence". @aetiology. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
- Armour, Stephanie; Restuccia, Andrew (27 February 2020). "White House Wants Signoff on Coronavirus Messaging". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
- "Michigan Tech hosts zombies symposium - ABC 10/CW 5". ABC 10/CW 5. 31 October 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- "Aetiology – Infections, public health, zombies, and other stuff". aetiologyblog.com. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
- results, search (4 May 2015). Pig Tales: An Omnivore's Quest for Sustainable Meat (1st ed.). W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 9780393240245.
- "SuperBug - Maryn McKenna". Maryn McKenna. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- Wolf, Julie. "MRSA in agriculture and zombie epidemiology with Tara C. Smith - MTM 67". Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- "Episode 181 - Tara Smith". Talk Nerdy. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- "What Can I Do? - Voices For Vaccines". Voices For Vaccines. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- "#438 - Big Chicken: Science for the People". www.scienceforthepeople.ca. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- "Zombie studies: The scientists taking the living dead seriously". www.newstatesman.com. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- Greene, Sean. "What zombies can teach us about infectious diseases". latimes.com. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- Paoletta, Rae. "Reminder: Wave Pools Are Filthy Pits of Despair". Gizmodo. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- Evans, Nicholas; Smith, Tara C.; Majumder, Maimuna S. (2016). Ebola's message : public health and medicine in the twenty-first century. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-33619-2. OCLC 960448151.
- Smith, Tara C., 1976- (2011). Ebola and Marburg viruses (2nd ed.). New York: Chelsea House. ISBN 978-1-4381-3577-9. OCLC 698105724.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
- Smith, Tara C.; Babcock, Hilary (2010). Streptococcus (group A) (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Chelsea House. ISBN 978-1-4381-3288-4. OCLC 650088855.
- Smith, Tara C. (2007). Streptococcus (group B). New York: Chelsea House. ISBN 978-0-7910-9243-9. OCLC 84900446.