"The past two years with the pandemic have been a blur.”
That’s how the College of Public Health’s professor of epidemiology, Tara Smith, Ph.D, describes the work she’s done, and continues to do, facing the pandemic beast.
Smith is recognized both nationally and internationally for her dedication to ensure that information about COVID-19, its variants, and vaccines, is accurate. In addition to being a member of the Pandemic Response Committee for Kent State University, Smith says, “I serve on many other committees to keep everyone up to date on ever changing science.”
Smith has written several peer-reviewed articles as well as 50 articles on COVID-19 since the pandemic began in March 2020. She continues to serve as a media source for print, radio and television and during the height of the pandemic, was interviewed 20 times per week. In addition to local and regional media, Smith has been interviewed by the New York Times, Washington Post, BBC News, and Indian and European news outlets.
"I’m continuing to focus on COVID-19 and its variants. My summer course, now in its third year, will be pandemic specific. I will also be teaching a course in the Fall relating to plagues and pandemics. The course will merge history with current events,” she adds.
Because COVID-19 remains a moving target, Smith continues to analyze antibiotics and the pandemic. “My research studies antibiotic resistance which has increased over the past two years, as more antibiotics have been used during the pandemic. On a completely different front, I’m studying the resistance to vaccines as a psychological phenomenon. I’m concerned that children run the risk of falling behind on their vaccinations. We must ensure that we counter misinformation and address fears that people may have,” she explains.
To learn more about Smith’s fall courses including Introduction to Infectious Disease and Epidemiology (graduate) or Plagues and Pandemics (undergraduate) please see the catalog.