PhD, MPH
Associate Professor of Psychiatry
Location:
UNC Chapel Hill
MacNider Hall 317D
Education and Training:
BA- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Music Performance, Psychology)
MA- Duke University (Clinical Health Psychology)
MPH- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Biostatistics)
PhD- Duke University (Clinical Health Psychology)
Internship- Duke University Medical Center (Clinical Neuropsychology)
Postdoc (1)- Duke University Medical Center (Behavioral Medicine)
Postdoc (2)- Duke University Medical Center (Clinical Neuropsychology)
Summary Statement:
Dr. Patrick Smith is a lifelong North Carolinian, having grown up in the Chapel Hill – Durham area. His training background has focused within three primary domains: behavioral medicine, neuropsychology, and biostatistics. He is particularly interested in the use of non-pharmacological approaches (e.g. exercise and dietary modification) to mitigate late-life cognitive impairment, with a focus on vascular and cardiometabolic mechanisms. His work has also focused on the development and deployment of behavioral treatments within chronic disease populations (e.g. cognitive behavioral therapy [CBT], acceptance and commitment therapy [ACT]). He previously served as the medical psychology liaison to the heart transplant and mechanical circulatory support team at Duke University Medical Center, as well as the liaison to the vascular composite allograft transplant program (e.g. hand transplantation). He also works as a clinical core member for the Duke-UNC Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC).
Dr. Smith is enthusiastic about multidisciplinary team approaches to treat complex medical problems. He is particularly interested in the use of factorial intervention designs, treatment optimization approaches, and mechanistically-focused clinical trials. He is also interested in the examination of process-based approaches to the understanding of optimizing treatment development and implementation. He works collaboratively with multiple investigators across numerous departments at UNC-CH, including internal medicine, neurology, and surgery.
