Andrew M Smith

Andrew M Smith is a Professor of Bioengineering, Medicine, and Technology Entrepreneurship at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) since 2021. He also serves as an Affiliate Faculty member in the Personalized Nutrition Initiative and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and as a Full-Time Resident Faculty at the Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory (MNTL). Previously, he was an Associate Professor at UIUC and Carle Illinois College of Medicine (2018–2023) and Associate Course Director of Hematology and Oncology (2017–2023) at Carle Illinois College of Medicine.

• Ph.D. in Bioengineering, Georgia Institute of Technology (2008)
• B.S. in Chemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology (2002)

His research focuses on Targeted Therapeutics, Molecular Diagnostics, Quantum Dots, Single-Molecule Imaging, Macrophage Biology, and Cancer Biology, with applications in precision medicine and nanotechnology. Recent studies include nanocoding for single-cell RNA sequencing, acid-degradable lipid nanoparticles for mRNA delivery, and quantum dots for in vivo macrophage imaging.

Key article trends: 15 recent publications span Nanotechnology (7), Bioengineering (5), Cancer Research (4), Immunology (3), and Medical Imaging (3), with subtopics like quantum dot surface engineering, lipid nanoparticles, STING pathway inhibition, and single-molecule tracking.

• Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) (2022)
• Donald Biggar Willett Faculty Scholar Award (2020)
• UIUC Campus Distinguished Promotion Award (2018)
• NCI K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award (2010–2015)
• Emory University Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence Distinguished Fellowship (2008–2012)

Smith leads the Smith Lab, which develops precision nanotechnologies for analyzing and controlling biological systems. His work bridges quantum dot engineering, macrophage-targeted therapies, and high-resolution imaging, with grants from NIH and industry partners. He has taught courses like Intro to Quantitative Pharmacology and Technologies for Cancer Diagnostics since 2019.