Professor and Vice-chair of Translational Research Department of OBGYN
Indiana University
Dr. Smith recently joined the faculty at the Indiana University School of Medicine after spending most of her career at Oklahoma State University. Her lab utilizes translational approaches involving cell culture systems, animal models and human subjects to understand how nutrition’s influence on the immune system impacts women’s health and aging. Much of the lab’s work has focused on studying bioactive components in foods that alter immune cells and their regulation of bone cells with menopause and aging. More recently, the lab has investigated the use of prebiotics to enhance the skeletal response to exericse and counter alterations in the gut microbiome and mucosal immune system induced by changes in estrogen status.