Smith is an associate professor at UI’s College of Nursing, is the director of the Csomay Center for Gerontological Excellence, Co-Director of the Center on Aging, and lead faculty for the Iowa Collaboratory for Successful Aging through Innovative Technologies.

Smith is the principal investigator for the Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program funding that supports the Iowa Geriatric Education Center (IGEC) and Interprofessional Strategic Healthcare Alliance for Rural Education, the training grant Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment that targets doctor of nursing practice and physician assistant students, and the staff-focused training project Partnerships to Improve Care and Quality of Life for Persons with Dementia.

Smith recently completed a five-year R01 grant called “Improving Mood in Assisted Living Settings Using a Cognitive Training Intervention,” and family-focused dementia training series “Family Involvement in Care” that is available at the IGEC website.

She is pursuing research related to vocal pattern recognition of late life depression in collaboration with Iowa Collaboratory researchers.

Her research focus and clinical interests include improving the lives of older adults who experience depression, anxiety, and/or dementia by developing innovative and pragmatic ways to reduce disability and promote function.