Amber M. Smith
Contact
Information
Department of Infectious Diseases
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
262 Danny Thomas Place, MS 320
Memphis, TN 38105 USA
Office: (901) 595-5599
Fax: (901) 595-3099
E-mail: amber.smith@stjude.org
WWW: www.math.utah.edu/~smith
WWW: www.stjude.org/smith
Current
Position
Research Associate, Department of Infectious Diseases
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN USA
Research
Interests
Kinetics of Virus Infection, Bacterial Coinfection and Host Immune Responses.
Understanding the mechanisms of respiratory pathogens and the host response using a
combination of mathematical modeling and biological experimentation.
Education
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT USA
2014-present
Ph.D. Applied Mathematics, 2009
Thesis: Mathematical Models of Influenza A Virus and S. pneumoniae Infections
Thesis Advisor: Fred Adler
M.S. Applied Mathematics, 2005
Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO USA
B.Sc. Mathematical and Computer Sciences, 2003
Modeling, Analysis and Computation Option
Minor: Public Affairs for Engineers
Non-degree & Short Courses
University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN USA
August - December 2012, Topic: Cellular Biology
January - May 2013, Topic: Molecular Biology
August - December 2013, Topic: Inflammation and Immunity
The American Association of Immunologists, Minneapolis, MN USA
August 2011, Advanced Course in Immunology
IAS/Park City Mathematics Institute Graduate Summer School, Park City, UT USA
June - July 2005, Topic: Mathematical Biology
Institute for Advanced Study Program for Women in Mathematics, Princeton, NJ USA
May 2003, Topic: Mathematical Biology
Grants
NIH NIAID K25 Career Development Award, (Role: PI)
Bacterial Virulence Factors Contributing to Virus-Associated Pneumonia
2012-2017
NSF Research Training Group (RTG) grant,
(Role: Graduate Student Trainee)
2006-2009
NSF Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT),
(Role: Graduate Student Trainee)
2003-2005
Amber M. Smith
Past Positions
(10 years)
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN USA
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Infectious Diseases
Visiting Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Infectious Diseases
Visiting Graduate Student, Department of Infectious Diseases
Advisor: Jon McCullers
2012-2014
Spring 2011
Winter 2007
Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos, NM USA
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Theoretical Biology and Biophysics (T-6)
2009-2012
Graduate Research Associate, Center for Nonlinear Studies/T-6
Summers 2006-2008
Advisors: Alan Perelson and Ruy Ribeiro
Select Honors
and Awards
University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT USA
RTG Research Fellow, Department of Mathematics
Advisor: Fred Adler
2006-2009
Instructor, Department of Mathematics
2005-2006
Early Career Scientists Symposium Nominee & Chosen Speaker, Univ of Michigan, 2011
Forward To Professorship Workshop Chosen Applicant, Arizona State Univ, January 2011
NIH National Graduate Student Research Festival Chosen Applicant & Speaker, NIH, 2008
Conference Travel
• Co-Infection Meeting, 2009 & 2012
• Orthomyxovirus Research Conference, 2007 & 2012
• Early Career Scientists Symposium, 2011
• NIH National Graduate Student Research Festival, 2008
• Landahl Award - Society for Mathematical Biology Annual Conference, 2008
Press
Editorials and Interviews
• “Simultaneous Infection”, International Innovation: The End of Epidemics, 2015,
Issue 176, http://www.internationalinnovation.com/simultaneous-infection/
• “Knocking Infections Off the Catwalk with Models”, St. Jude Science Soundbites,
Cure4Kids.org, 2015.
• “Influenza Virus and Pneumococcus: A Deadly Combination”, Translating Science
Into Survival, St. Jude Scientific Reports. 2014. http://www.stjude.org/SJFile/
070914_WEB.pdf
Publication Recommendations
• Grenfell B and Arinaminpathy N: F1000Prime Recommendation of [Smith AM et
al., PLoS Comput Biol 2011, 7(2):e1001081]. In F1000Prime, 06 Mar 2011; DOI:
10.3410/f.8733956.9247056. http://F1000Prime.com/8733956#eval9247056
• Cell Press. “Avian Flu – 1918 and Today – Protein Enhances Lethality Of Virus”,
ScienceDaily. 11 October 2007. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/
10/071010120543
Publications
Smith, A.M. and Smith, A.P. (2016) A Critical Combination of Bacterial Dose and
Virus-Induced Alveolar Macrophage Depletion Leads to Pneumococcal Infections During
Influenza. (submitted)
Amber M. Smith
Smith, A.M., Ribeiro, R.M., and Perelson, A.S. (2016) Population Dynamics of Host and
Pathogens. (submitted)
Smith, A.M. and McCullers, J.A. (2014). Secondary Bacterial Infections in Influenza
Virus Infection Pathogenesis. Curr Top Microbiol doi:10.1007/82 2014 394.
Smith, A.M. and McCullers, J.A. (2013). Molecular Signatures of Virulence in the PB1-F2
Proteins of H5N1 Influenza Viruses. Virus Res 178 (1):146-150. doi:10.1016/j.virusres.2013.
02.012.
Smith, A.M., Adler, F.R., Ribeiro, R.M., Gutenkunst, R.N., McAuley, J.L., McCullers,
J.A. and Perelson, A.S. (2013). Kinetics of Coinfection with Influenza A Virus and Streptococcus pneumoniae. PLoS Pathog 9(3): e1003238. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1003238.
Smith, A.M., McCullers, J.A. and Adler, F.R. (2011). Mathematical Model of a ThreeStage Innate Immune Response to a Pneumococcal Lung Infection. J Theor Biol 276(1):106116.
Smith, A.M., Adler, F.R., McAuley, J.L., Gutenkunst, R.N., Ribeiro, R.M., McCullers,
J.A. and Perelson, A.S. (2011). Effect of 1918 PB1-F2 Expression on Influenza A Virus
Infection Kinetics. PLoS Comput Biol 7(2): e1001081. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1001081.
Smith, A.M. and Perelson, A.S. (2011). Influenza A Virus Infection Kinetics: Quantitative
Data and Models. WIREs Syst Biol Med doi: 10.1002/wsbm.129.
Smith, A.M.. and Ribeiro, R.M. (2010). Modeling the Viral Dynamics of Influenza A
Virus Infection. Crit Rev Immunol 30(3):291-298.
Smith, A.M., Adler, F.R. and Perelson, A.S. (2010). An Accurate Two-Phase Approximate Solution to an Acute Viral Infection Model. J Math Biol 60(5):711-726.
McAuley, J.L., Hornung, F., Boyd, K.L., Smith, A.M., McKeon, R., Bennink, J., Yewdell,
J.W. and McCullers, J.A. (2007). Expression of the 1918 Influenza A Virus PB1-F2 Enhances the Pathogenesis of Viral and Secondary Bacterial Pneumonia. Cell Host & Microbe,
2(4):240-249.
Mentoring/
Supervisory
Experience
Postdoctoral Fellows
• Veronika Bernhuerova, Ph.D.
2015-present
Technicians
• Amanda Smith, MS
2014-present
Medical Students
• David Moquin (University of Tennessee Health Science Center)
2014-present
Graduate Students
Biology
• Luciana Tavares (Visiting Student, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais)
2015
• Miranda Jarrett (Rotating Student, Univ of Tennessee Health Science Center) 2014
Amber M. Smith
Undergraduate Students
Bioengineering
• Gabrielle Hochu (St. Jude POE Summer Program, NC State)
2015
• Amy Mirro (St. Jude POE Summer Program, Washington Univ in St. Louis) 2015
Biology
• Lindey Lane (Summer Student, Mississippi State)
2015
• Hayley Arceneaux (St. Jude POE Summer Program, SE Louisiana Univ)
Mathematics
• Tyler Bardsley (REU, University of Utah)
Teaching
Experience
2013
2008
• William Carlquist (REU, University of Utah)
2008
• Parker Childs (REU, University of Utah)
2008
• Yasmeen Hussain (REU, University of Utah)
2008
University of Utah, Department of Mathematics
RTG Fellow/Teaching Assistant
• Biol 5910: Mathematical Models in Biology
2006 - 2009
• REU: Circadian Rhythms
• Math 5120: Mathematical Biology II
• Math 5110/6830: Mathematical Biology I
Instructor
• Math 1100: Quantitative Analysis
2005 - 2006
• Math 1090: College Algebra for Business and Social Sciences
Park City Mathematics Institute (Institute for Advanced Study)
Undergraduate Summer School Teaching Assistant
Summer 2005
• Course: Dynamics, Disease and Diversity, Lecturer: Fred Adler
Selected
Conference
Presentations
A full list of presentations can be found at
www.math.utah.edu/~smith/ASmith_Presentations.pdf
Virus Dynamics Workshop,
Oral Presentation: Kinetics of Sendai Virus Infection, Toronto, July 2015
Oral Presentation: Kinetics of Influenza Infection and Coinfection, Frankfurt, July 2013
Society for Mathematical Biology Annual Meeting, Atlanta, June 2015
Session Chair: Infections and Epidemics
Oral Presentation: Quantifying the Bacterial Dose Threshold in Influenza-Pneumococcal
Coinfections
Keystone Symposia - Co-Infection: A Global Challenge for Disease Control,
Ouro Preto, March 2015
Poster: Modeling Host-Pathogen Interactions of Influenza A Virus and S. pneumoniae During Coinfection
Amber M. Smith
Biomathematics and Ecology: Education and Research, Claremont, October 2014
Invited Presentation: Modeling Host-Pathogen Interactions of Influenza A Virus and S.
pneumoniae During Coinfection
Options for the Control of Influenza VIII, Cape Town, September 2013
Session Chair: Models Informing Public Health and Pandemic Mitigation
Oral Presentation: Influenza A Virus Coinfection Kinetics: Gaining Insight Into Pathogenesis Through Mathematical Models
IDE(a)S of March, Salt Lake City, March 2013
Oral Presenation: Modeling Influenza A Virus Infection Kinetics
Selected
Seminar
Presentations
[Invited] Identifying Immune Mechanisms of Influenza-Pneumococcal Coinfection with Model
Driven Experiments
Integrated Mathematical Oncology Seminar, Moffitt Cancer Center, Mar 2016
[Invited] Identifying Mechanisms of Influenza-Pneumococcal Coinfections Through Mathematical Modeling
Mathematics Seminar, Virginia Tech, Nov 2015
A Dynamic Bacterial Dose Threshold and the Role of Alveolar Macrophages in InfluenzaPneumococcal Coinfections
Infectious Diseases Research Conference, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Oct 2015
The Mathematics of Biology: From Coinfections to Cancer
Comprehensive Cancer Center, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, June 2014
[Invited] Influenza PB1-F2 Expression: Kinetics of Primary and Secondary Infections
Mathematical Biology Seminar, University of Pittsburgh, March 2012
[Invited] Modeling Influenza A Virus Infection Kinetics
Mathematical Biology Seminar, University of Utah, March 2012
Professional
Activities
Journal Referee
Acta Mathematica Scientia
American Journal of Epidemiology
BMC Infectious Diseases
BMC Public Health
Bulletin of Mathematical Biology
Journal of Theoretical Biology
Journal of Virology
Journal of Virological Methods
Mathematical Medicine and Biology
Pathogens and Disease
Physical Biology
PLoS Computational Biology
PLoS One
Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society
Risk Analysis
Scientific Reports
Virology
Institutional Service
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Memphis Mathematical Biology Seminar - Founder and Organizer (2015-present)
Infectious Disease Journal Club Organizer (2013-present)
Amber M. Smith
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Mathematical Virology Group Meeting Organizer (2009-2012)
University of Utah
Utah Mathematical Biology IGERT Student Workshop Organizer (2006)
College of Science Student Member at Large and College Council Member (2007-2008)
Graduate Student Advisory Committee (GSAC)
- Co-chair (2007-2008), Recruitment Committee Head (2004-2005)
Community Outreach
Podcast: “Knocking Infections Off the Catwalk with Models” - St. Jude Science Soundbites, Cure4Kids.org (2015)
Speaker - Career Success - KIPP Memphis Collegiate High School (2014)