Overview
The Smith Lab are interested in host genetic diversity, bacterial variation, and how these host-pathogen genetic interactions drive tuberculosis disease states.
Systems Genetics of Tuberculosis: We leverage host diversity in mice and macrophages from wild-derived mouse strains and diverse mouse panels, including the Collaborative Cross and BXD mammalian resources. In parallel, we define the bacterial genetic requirements for growth and adaptation across these diverse host environments through cutting-edge mycobacterial genetic approaches. These combined host and bacterial genome-wide approaches allows the interrogation of each host-pathogen interaction underlying tuberculosis disease, drug treatments and vaccine interventions.
Current Appointments & Affiliations
Assistant Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
·
2019 - Present
Molecular Genetics and Microbiology,
Basic Science Departments
Assistant Professor of Cell Biology
·
2022 - Present
Cell Biology,
Basic Science Departments
Member of the Duke Human Vaccine Institute
·
2019 - Present
Duke Human Vaccine Institute,
Institutes and Centers
Recent Publications
Noncanonical T cell responses are associated with protection from tuberculosis in mice and humans.
Journal Article J Exp Med · July 7, 2025 While control of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection is generally understood to require Th1 cells and IFNγ, infection produces a spectrum of immunological and pathological phenotypes in diverse human populations. By characterizing Mtb infection in m ... Full text Link to item CiteCathepsin Z is a conserved susceptibility factor underlying tuberculosis severity.
Preprint · April 1, 2025 Full text Link to item CiteImmunological roads diverged: mapping tuberculosis outcomes in mice.
Journal Article Trends Microbiol · January 2025 The journey from phenotypic observation to causal genetic mechanism is a long and challenging road. For pathogens like Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), which causes tuberculosis (TB), host-pathogen coevolution has spanned millennia, costing millions of hu ... Full text Link to item CiteRecent Grants
Defining the host-pathogen interactions underlying susceptibility to tuberculosis
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Pew Scholars Program · 2024 - 2029Systems Genetics of Tuberculosis
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by University of Massachusetts Medical School · 2024 - 2029The Genetic Base of Bone Disease in Mycobacterial Infection
ResearchCo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases · 2023 - 2028View All Grants
Education, Training & Certifications
University of Tasmania (Australia) ·
2012
Ph.D.