Biology Education

Kate Smith PhD is Associate Professor of Medical Science and Senior Associate Dean of Biology Education. She is a member of the Division of Biology and Medicine leadership council and administrative leader of undergraduate, master’s and doctoral education. With training in infectious disease ecology and biogeography, Dean Smith joined the University in 2008. Her scholarship focuses on planetary health and STEM education. Her work has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as Science, Ecology Letters, One Health and Conservation Biology. Dean Smith teaches courses on planetary health to undergraduate and medical students and co-chairs the Planetary Health Curriculum Integration Committee at The Warren Alpert Medical School. She is recipient of the Dean's Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, Advising and Mentoring in the Biological Sciences. She earned her BS in biology from The University of New Mexico and a PhD from the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology from The University of California Santa Barbara.