Skip to main content
Jennifer S. Smith, PhD, MPH | Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases

Jennifer S. Smith, PhD, MPH

Professor of Epidemiology

Director of the Cervical Cancer Free Coalition

Jennifer-Smith-IGHID-Profile

Contact Information

Appointments:
919-593-4091
Academic Office:
919-966-7450

Address

Office:
2103 McGavran-Greenberg Hall
CB#7435
Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599

Resources

Jennifer S. Smith, PhD, MPH

Professor of Epidemiology

Director of the Cervical Cancer Free Coalition

Areas of Interest

Infections, Cancer, Global Health, Cervical Cancer Prevention, Human Papillomavirus (HPV), HPV Vaccination, Gynecologic Oncology, Cervical Cancer Screening, HPV Self-Screening, Implementation Trials

About

For over 25 years, Dr. Smith’s research has focused on epidemiological studies of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and cervical cancer prevention worldwide. She has centered her global HPV and cervical cancer research on prevention through HPV vaccination, HPV screening and treatment. The scope of Dr. Smith’s work has been broad, including epidemiological studies, clinical effectiveness trials, cost-effectiveness evaluations, and qualitative acceptability research. Dr. Smith has published over 320 articles in international peer-reviewed journals, of which over 275 are related to cervical cancer, HPV infection, and HPV-associated diseases.
The focus of her research has been both in North Carolina as well as internationally, notably in Kenya, China, and Malawi. She serves as an MPI for the UNC CASCADE Research Base which aims to develop pragmatic trials to improve screening access, triage, and treatment in women living with HIV, with ongoing research in Uganda and Zimbabwe. She is a Co-I for an NCI-funded study to implement crowdsourcing to inform a mother-daughter intervention to increase HPV vaccination among adolescents and HPV self-collection among their mothers in Nigeria. Dr. Smith served as an MPI for an NCI-funded multi-center UH2/3 study to develop the use of a Point-of-Care HPV diagnostic test for global use, Co-I on a large USAID-funded cluster randomized trial to examine the effect of self-sampling through community-based provision in Malawi, and as a Co-I for a cluster randomized trial on the impact of HPV self-sampling in community health campaigns compared to health facility delivery in Western Kenya. She has led international multi-center research studies and worked collaboratively to evaluate HPV self-collection and HPV vaccination acceptability, via qualitative focus group and in-depth interviews, both domestically and internationally. As Director of the Cervical Cancer Free Coalition, Dr. Smith convened two national meetings with medical and public health experts in D.C. and in Atlanta. She is a MPI for the Cancer Health Disparities Training Grant and has served as a mentor for several productive Fogarty fellows during their training in Beijing, China.

Awards and Honors

  • Leading expert in the early detection of cancer, Expertscape, 2019
  • John E. Larsh, Jr. Award, for student mentorship, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, 2015
  • Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center Population Sciences Research Award, 2004
  • Elion Research Award, International Herpes Management Forum, 2002
  • Jean Coombs Award, Epidemiology Department, Johns Hopkins University, 1999
  • Chateaubriand Fellowship Recipient, French Embassy, 1998
  • Delta Omega National Public Health Honors Society, 1995
  • Jacob Javitz Graduate Fellowship recipient, The United States Department of Education, 1994
  • Samuel Houston Citizenship Award, 1991
  • Johnson Fellowship for Social Service Work, 1991
  • Harvard Traveller’s Club Award, 1990
  • Sigma Xi Scientific Honors Society, 1987

Memberships

  • Member, EUROGIN, 2000-present
  • Member, International Papillomavirus Society, 1996-present
  • Full Member, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, 2004-present
  • Member, Editorial Board, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 2009-Present
  • Member, Editorial Board, Sexually Transmitted Infections, 2009-Present
  • Member of ACCESS-Consensus Group to increase screening among under-screened women
  • Member, International Union Against Sexually Transmitted Infections, North American Branch, 2007-present
  • Member, European Association for Cancer Research, 1997-present
  • Member, Center for AIDS Research, University of North Carolina, 2004-present
  • Member, Center for Women’s Health Research, University of North Carolina, 2004-present
  • Member, North Carolina Public Health Association, 2011-present

In the news

Education

  • Undergraduate

    Amherst College

  • MPH

    Johns Hopkins University

  • PhD

    Johns Hopkins University

InstituteforGlobalHealthandInfectiousDiseases_logo_white_v

 

Bioinformatics Building
130 Mason Farm Rd, 2nd floor
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC

Tel: 919.966.2537

 

 

MAKE A GIFT

Your gift will advance vital research that can save lives and promote health and well being around the world.

Donate Now

 

Subscribe To:

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.