David Smith

Associate Professor
Ph.D. Princeton

614 Carr
Box 118525
Gainesville, FL
32611-8525
Voice: (352) 392-0090
smitdave@zoology.ufl.edu

Research Interests

My research is in mathematical epidemiology, emerging infectious diseases, infectious disease ecology, the evolution of antimicrobial resistance, and the bioeconomics of infectious diseases. My current research is in four areas 1) the dynamics and control of malaria and on the evolution of resistance to antimalarial drugs; 2) the interplay between economics, ecology, and evolution in the evolution of antibiotic resistance; 3) the spread of hospital-acquired pathogens; and 4) the spatio-temporal dynamics of rabies. Minor interests include human influenza, avian influenza, Chagas disease, and cholera.

I have a dual appointment as the Director for Disease Ecology at the Emerging Pathogens Institute (EPI), an institute that will serve as a hub for interdisciplinary research on emerging pathogens.

My research on malaria epidemiology is part of a multi-institution, multi-disciplinary enterprise called the Malaria Atlas Project (MAP).

My research on antibiotic resistance, antimalarial resistance and the bioeconomics of infectious diseases involves collaborative work with economists, biologists, and policy-oriented people at Resources for the Future (RFF). The first phase of ongoing policy-oriented research on antibiotic resistance, Extending the Cure, has now been completed.

Students Currently Supervised

Representative Publications

Smith, D.L., F.E. McKenzie , R.W. Snow and S.I. Hay. 2007. Revisiting the basic reproductive number for malaria and its implications for malaria control. PLoS Biology 5:e42.

Smith, D.L., J. Dushoff, R.W. Snow and S.I Hay. 2005. The entomological inoculation rate Plasmodium falciparum infection in African children. Nature 438:492-495.

Le Menac'h, A., F.E McKenzie, A. Flahault and D.L. Smith. 2005. The unexpected importance of mosquito oviposition behavior for malaria: non-productive larval habitats can be sources for malaria transmission. Malaria Journal 4:23.

Smith, D.L., S.A. Levin, R. Laxminarayan. 2005. Strategic interactions in multi-institution epidemics of antibiotic resistance. PNAS 102:3153-3158.

Smith, D.L., J. Dushoff and J.G. Morris. 2005. Agricultural antibiotics and human health: does antibiotic use in agriculture have a greater impact than hospital use? PLoS Medicine 2:e232.

Smith, D.L., J. Dushoff, E.N. Perencevich, A.D. Harris and S.A. Levin. 2004. Persistent colonization and the spread of antibiotic resistance in nosocomial pathogens: resistance is a regional problem. PNAS 101:3709-3714.

Smith, D.L., A.D. Harris, J.A. Johnson, E.K Silbergeld and J.G. Morris. 2002 Animal antibioitc use has an early but important impact on the emergence of antibiotic resistance in human commensal bacteria. PNAS 99:6434-6439.

Smith, D.L., B. Lucey, L.A. Waller, J.E. Childs and L.A. Real. 2002. Predicting the spatial dynamics of rabies epidemics on heterogeneous landscapes. PNAS 99:3668-3672.