Titles

• Professor, School of Life Sciences, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
• Affiliated Faculty, Center for Biodiversity Outcomes, Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation

Biography

Brian Smith is a behavioral neuroscientist who studies how animals learn about odors in order to predict important events, such as an encounter with food, a mate or predator. His research employs detailed behavioral studies of learning and memory. He and his research team also use a combination of electrophysiological, bioimaging, molecular and computational techniques to directly link changes in behavior to changes in the brain.

Professor Smith’s research focuses on learning and memory systems in both insects and mammals. His work is being applied to studies of human diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, as well as to the negative effects of heavy metal poisoning on learning and memory.

Education

• PhD, Entomology, University of Kansas, 1985
• BS, Biology, Juniata College, 1978

Expertise

• behavior
• bioimaging
• communication
• learning sciences
• mathematical biology
• neuroscience