About
Assistant Professor
Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics
Director, UofL Sequencing Technology Center
University of Louisville
Dr. Smith’s research focuses on the development of novel targeted genomics methods that leverage single molecule sequencing methods to deconvolute and characterize complex regions of mammalian genomes. In relation to projects that apply to environmental health science, Dr. Smith’s lab is currently developing several methods to investigate genetic and epigenomic polymorphism in mitochondrial genomes, direct measures of epitranscriptomic modifications (e.g., methyl-6-adenosine on RNA), as well as targeted long-read sequencing methods to characterize alternative splicing and gene fusions. Environmental exposures to hard metals, toxins, alcohol, and other proinflammatory stimuli are known to impact host metabolism, RNA biology and gene regulation.
Research Keywords: genomics, long read sequencing, RNA biology, mitochondria, immunogenetics