Davida S. Smyth, Ph.D.
Texas A&M University-San Antonio
Davida S. Smyth, Ph.D., is a full professor of biology at Texas A&M University-San Antonio, Texas. She received her Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Dublin, Trinity College, Ireland and completed postdoctoral fellowships at New York Medical College, the University of Mississippi Medical Center and New York University. She served as associate professor of Natural Sciences at Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts at The New School, associate professor and Chairperson of the Department of Natural Sciences at Mercy College (now Mercy University) and assistant professor of biology at New York City College of Technology (NYCCT).
The Smyth lab studies viral and bacterial aerosol transmission, the use of wastewater epidemiology and surveillance for pathogens, such as SARS-CoV-2, and the role of the built environment and anthropogenic activity in driving antibiotic resistance, a major global health threat. She is also working to improve civic and scientific literacy in biology by using ePortfolios and integrating authentic research into the curriculum.
Smyth is a Senior Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities (SENCER) Leadership fellow, as well as a Partnership for Undergraduate Life Sciences Education (PULSE) fellow and ambassador. She is Deputy Director of the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement. She has received several teaching and mentoring awards and serves on several national grants working to reform STEM education through classroom based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) and civic engagement. She is the co-PI of the NSF-funded Research Experiences in Microbiomes Research Coordination Network and co-PI of the NSF-funded project, "Collaborative Research: Metapopulation Modeling to Develop Strategies to Reduce COVID-19 Transmission in Public Spaces." She is a member of the editorial board of BMC Infectious Diseases, PLoS ONE and Science and Civic Engagement: An International Journal.
Recently, Smyth developed and co-edited a special topics section of Frontiers in °®¶¹´«Ã½, "Tools, Techniques, and Strategies for Teaching in a Real-World Context with °®¶¹´«Ã½."
The Smyth lab studies viral and bacterial aerosol transmission, the use of wastewater epidemiology and surveillance for pathogens, such as SARS-CoV-2, and the role of the built environment and anthropogenic activity in driving antibiotic resistance, a major global health threat. She is also working to improve civic and scientific literacy in biology by using ePortfolios and integrating authentic research into the curriculum.
Smyth is a Senior Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities (SENCER) Leadership fellow, as well as a Partnership for Undergraduate Life Sciences Education (PULSE) fellow and ambassador. She is Deputy Director of the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement. She has received several teaching and mentoring awards and serves on several national grants working to reform STEM education through classroom based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) and civic engagement. She is the co-PI of the NSF-funded Research Experiences in Microbiomes Research Coordination Network and co-PI of the NSF-funded project, "Collaborative Research: Metapopulation Modeling to Develop Strategies to Reduce COVID-19 Transmission in Public Spaces." She is a member of the editorial board of BMC Infectious Diseases, PLoS ONE and Science and Civic Engagement: An International Journal.
Recently, Smyth developed and co-edited a special topics section of Frontiers in °®¶¹´«Ã½, "Tools, Techniques, and Strategies for Teaching in a Real-World Context with °®¶¹´«Ã½."