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Sophia Kustas Smith

Associate Professor in the School of Nursing
School of Nursing
DUMC 3322, Durham, NC 27710
307 Trent Dr, DUMC 3322, Pearson 2114, Durham, NC 27710

Overview


Dr. Sophia Smith is an Associate Professor with Tenure at the Duke School of Nursing and earned her PhD and MSW degrees at UNC-Chapel Hill School of Social Work. Her research explores ways to improve the quality of cancer care including post-treatment survivorship and palliative care with a primary focus on leveraging technology in delivering behavioral health interventions to the community. She is leading efforts to integrate clinical cancer care and research in building the scientific evidence that informs evidence-based practice through her current and past membership on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Survivorship Guidelines Panel and American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Survivorship Committee. Dr. Smith’s research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the American Cancer Society, NCCN, and Pfizer Grants for Independent Learning and Change.

Current Duke Appointments & Affiliations


Associate Professor in the School of Nursing · 2020 - Present School of Nursing
Member of the Duke Cancer Institute · 2013 - Present Duke Cancer Institute, Institutes and Centers

Recent News Items


Published September 21, 2021
Meet the Newly Tenured Faculty of 2021
Published July 31, 2017
Herald-Sun
PTSD app helps cancer survivors overcome trauma of treatment.
Published July 11, 2017
WRAL-TV
Mobile app developed at Duke helping survivors battle 'cancer PTSD'

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Recent Scholarly Works


Adaptive, Stepped-Care for Cancer-Related PTSD Symptoms in HCT Survivors: Results From a SMART Trial.

Journal article Psychooncology · August 2026 OBJECTIVE: Cancer-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is prevalent among hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) survivors, yet access to evidence-based care is limited. This study evaluated adaptive, stepped-care treatment sequences for PTSD sym ... Full text Link to item Cite

NCCN Guidelines® Insights: Survivorship, Version 3.2026.

Journal article Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network : JNCCN · August 2026 The NCCN Guidelines for Survivorship offer guidance for health care providers who care for survivors of adult-onset cancer. These guidelines include screening, evaluation, and treatment recommendations for common physical and psychosocial problems resultin ... Full text Cite

Knowledge gaps among adult Hodgkin lymphoma survivors: implications for risk‑based care.

Journal article Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · July 2026 PurposeSurvivors of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) face lifelong risks of treatment-related late adverse effects, yet many lack adequate knowledge of these risks. This study examined sociodemographic, clinical, and care-related correlates of survivorship k ... Full text Cite
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Recent Grants


Nurse LEADS: Training in Nurse-LEd models of care ADdressing the Social Determinants of Health

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institute of Nursing Research · 2024 - 2029

Promoting Effective Self-Management of Chronic Pain with mHealth Neurofeedback

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2022 - 2027

Using a SMART Design to Optimize PTSD Symptom Management Strategies Among Cancer Survivors

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2019 - 2025

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Education


University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill · 2007 Ph.D.
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill · 2001 M.S.W.