Albert Smith

Albert Smith is a computational geneticist and biostatistician at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, specializing in genetics and genomics research.

Education:

• PhD in Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1993)
• BA in Biochemistry and Cell Biology, University of California-San Diego (1985)

Research Focus: With over 30 years of experience, Dr. Smith develops and applies analytical methods in genetics, including genetic risk modeling and bioinformatics. His work emphasizes large-scale data management and the creation of data-intensive web applications and databases. He has contributed to major initiatives like the International HapMap Project, the CHARGE Consortium, and the NHLBI Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) Program.

Scientific Contributions: Recent publications highlight his role in analyzing expression/splicing quantitative trait loci, investigating persistent opioid use genetics, studying clonal hematopoiesis, and integrating multi-omics data across diverse populations. His expertise spans gene-environment interactions, rare variant analysis, and polygenic risk scoring.

Methodologies: Dr. Smith utilizes computational tools including R, Perl, and SQL, and is recognized for leading interdisciplinary teams in tackling complex statistical challenges in genomics.