Dr. Smith's research is focused on utilizing cutting edge genomics technology to parse the complex host-pathogen relationship. Her lab implements novel molecular and sequencing methodologies to resolve viral escape, transmission and surveillance, antibacterial resistance, and immune repertoire loci in an attempt to further our understanding of the evolutionary arms race between host and causative agents of infectious disease, i.e. how pathogens evolve to evade host immune responses, and how the host can be readied in response. These same strategies are also being used to understand tumor neoantigens and their reactivity, metastasis and oncogenesis and response to therapy. Dr. Smith has expertise in the application of DNA and RNA next generation and single molecule sequencing, including sample evaluation, library preparation and computational analyses of data across multiple NGS platforms.