Rebecca Lee Smith

Rebecca Lee Smith is an Associate Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, holding appointments in Pathobiology, Biomedical and Translational Sciences, Kinesiology and Community Health, and affiliated with multiple research centers including the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). Her research focuses on epidemiology, mathematical modeling of disease control, and real-time data-driven responses to outbreaks. She teaches courses in epidemiology and leads seminars on global health issues.

Education:

• PhD in Epidemiology, Cornell University (2011)
• MS in Biosecurity, Kansas State University (2007)
• DVM, Cornell University (2005)

Research Interests: Combining epidemiological modeling with biosecurity strategies, particularly in livestock systems. Current projects include tick-borne disease surveillance, human-wildlife interaction dynamics, and pandemic response mechanisms. Her work emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches, leveraging computational tools and big data analytics.

Awards: Recipient of the Scialog Fellowship (2021), recognizing her contributions to innovative solutions in climate and energy research.

Grants & Collaborations: Active in collaborative projects on swine farm biosecurity, tickborne pathogens, and post-pandemic public health strategies. Engaged with interdisciplinary teams across veterinary medicine, computational biology, and social sciences.

Labs/Teams: Leads the Modeling and Data-Driven Computational Infectious Disease Lab (MDCI Lab) at the College of Veterinary Medicine, focusing on translational research in global health.