Robert P. Smith

Robert P. Smith is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medical Education at the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University. His academic journey includes a B.Sc. and Ph.D. from Carleton University, followed by postdoctoral research at Duke University where he also held the Duke Scholar in Infectious Disease position from 2011-2013.

Dr. Smith's research focuses on synthetic biology applications for preventing biological invasion, studying ecological and evolutionary dynamics, and understanding antibiotic resistance through systems biology approaches. His work centers around the Microbial Cooperation Lab, where he investigates bacterial metabolism, microbial ecology, and harmful algal blooms.

His recent publications (2023-2025) demonstrate strong activity in antibiotic resistance mechanisms, particularly examining how bacterial metabolism influences antimicrobial effectiveness and how microbial communities in harmful algal blooms persist. These publications appear in high-impact journals including Nature Reviews Microbiology and Microbiology Spectrum.

• David and Rachel Epstein Award (2023)
• Duke Scholars in Infectious Diseases Program (2023)
• Graduate Student Ambassador Award (2023)
• Let's Talk Science National Coordinator Award (2023)
• NSERC Canadian Graduate Scholarship (2023)

Dr. Smith actively mentors students through honors thesis projects and teaches multiple biology courses including BIOL 1500, BIOL 3400, BIOL 3600, and BIOL 4321 Systems and Synthetic Biology. His two current research projects focus on harmful algal blooms in Lake Okeechobee and antibiotic resistance mechanisms in periodic environments, demonstrating his commitment to addressing significant environmental and health challenges through microbiological research.