Emily Smith

Emily Smith, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the department of emergency medicine/surgery at Duke University and at the Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI). During the COVID-19 pandemic, she also became known as the Friendly Neighbor Epidemiologist through her social media outlets which reached over 10 million people in 2020-2021. Before joining the faculty at Duke University, Smith spent four years at Baylor University in the department of public health and was a research scholar at DGHI for two years. Dr. Smith received her PhD in epidemiology from the Gillings School of Global Public Health at UNC Chapel Hill and a MSPH from the University of South Carolina. Smith has been married to her pastor-husband for 20 years and they have two fantastic children, one spoiled golden retriever and a new very-friendly golden doodle puppy.