Overview
Emily Smith, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at Duke University with research interests including children’s global surgery, poverty metrics, health economics, and global health policy. As an epidemiologist, she has worked with her in-country partners at the Edna Adan Hospital in Somaliland for the past 5 years on projects related to children’s surgical care, including defining the epidemiologic burden, assessing poverty trajectories among families with a child’s surgical need, geospatial analyses, and healthcare infrastructure. Prior to DGHI, her work at the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) involved utilizing epidemiological methods, mathematical modeling techniques and cost-effectiveness research to determine effectiveness of various testing strategies among HIV exposed infants in sub-Saharan Africa.
Current Appointments & Affiliations
Assistant Professor in Emergency Medicine
·
2021 - Present
Emergency Medicine,
Clinical Science Departments
Assistant Research Professor of Global Health
·
2022 - Present
Duke Global Health Institute,
University Institutes and Centers
Member of the Duke Cancer Institute
·
2025 - Present
Duke Cancer Institute,
Institutes and Centers
Recent Publications
The impact of armed conflict on global patterns of childhood cancer.
Journal Article Lancet Oncol · April 2025 Full text Link to item CiteFinancial impact and healthcare expenditures among surgical patients in Burundi.
Journal Article World J Surg · February 2025 BACKGROUND: The largest proportion of people at risk of catastrophic expenditures for surgical care live in low- and middle-income countries. This study aims to evaluate the financial impact among surgical patients at Kibuye Hope Hospital (KHH) in Burundi. ... Full text Link to item CiteEssential Equipment for Baseline Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Care: A Global Cross-Sectional Survey.
Journal Article Laryngoscope Investig Otolaryngol · February 2025 OBJECTIVE: Availability of surgical equipment and access to essential clinical services remains an important barrier to surgical care delivery, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This study aims to characterize the relative availabil ... Full text Link to item CiteRecent Grants
Improving access to cancer care for children in Tanzania: Designing a health-systems intervention
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Fogarty International Center · 2022 - 2027Using community health centers to mitigate the impact of snakebite envenoming in remote areas: Development and formative evaluation of a novel multi-modal intervention in the Brazilian Amazon
ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2021 - 2024View All Grants
Education, Training & Certifications
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill ·
2016
Ph.D.
University of South Carolina, Columbia ·
2006
M.S.P.H.
Wayland Baptist University ·
2003
B.S.