Douglas H. Smith, MD
Robert A. Groff Professor of Teaching and Research in Neurosurgery
Director , Center for Brain Injury and Repair, University of Pennsylvania
Department: Neurosurgery
Graduate Group Affiliations
Contact information
105 Hayden Hall
3320 Smith Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6316
3320 Smith Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6316
Office: 215-573-3156
Publications
Links
Search PubMed for articles
Smith Neurotrauma Lab
Penn Center for Brain Injury and Repair (CBIR)
CONNECT-TBI, a Multi-Site NIH/NINDS Grant Project
Search PubMed for articles
Smith Neurotrauma Lab
Penn Center for Brain Injury and Repair (CBIR)
CONNECT-TBI, a Multi-Site NIH/NINDS Grant Project
Education:
BS (Biology)
University of Connecticut, 1981.
MD (Medicine)
University of Noreste, 1986.
Permanent linkBS (Biology)
University of Connecticut, 1981.
MD (Medicine)
University of Noreste, 1986.
Description of Research Expertise
Douglas H. Smith, M.D. is the Robert A. Groff Endowed Professor of Teaching and Research in Neurosurgery and Director of the Center for Brain Injury and Repair at the University of Pennsylvania. He is recognized globally as one of the foremost experts on concussion and traumatic brain injury (TBI), including more severe forms of TBI.Dr. Smith holds prominent leadership roles internationally. He currently serves as President-elect of the National Neurotrauma Society and as Scientific Director of the Big Ten/Ivy League Collaboration on Concussion. He is also a member of the Scientific Advisory Boards for the National Football League (NFL), the NCAA–Department of Defense (DoD) Concussion Consortium, and the International Concussion Society. Additionally, he serves as an inaugural trustee of the Mind Your Brain Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting TBI survivors and their caregivers through education and outreach.
His groundbreaking research has advanced the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of concussion. His team discovered that concussion symptoms arise from physical and functional damage to nerve fibers (axons), disrupting electrical communication across brain networks. They also identified blood biomarkers of axonal injury that can predict recovery time. Furthermore, his group was the first to reveal how concussion and more severe TBI can lead to progressive neurodegeneration, including chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr. Smith’s expertise garnered the attention of the U.S. State Department, which tasked him with leading a team to investigate unexplained neurological symptoms affecting U.S. embassy personnel in Cuba. Their findings led to the identification of a newly recognized disorder known as Havana Syndrome.
Dr. Smith has authored more than 300 peer-reviewed scientific publications, which are among the most highly cited in the field, earning him an h-index of over 90. His research excellence has been recognized with numerous prestigious awards, including:
• The Dorothy Russell Medal, the highest honor from the British Neuropathological Society,
• The William Osler Patient-Oriented Research Award from the University of Pennsylvania,
• The Anthony B. Marmarou Memorial Neurotrauma Lecture Award from the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons,
• The Deal of the Year Award from Penn’s Center for Innovation for a licensed invention aimed at brain repair, and
• The National Neurotrauma 2025 Honorary Award
Selected Publications
Sullivan, P. Z., AlBayar, A., Burrell, J. C., Browne, K. D., Arena, J., Johnson, V., Smith, D. H., Cullen, D. K., Ozturk, A. K.: Implantation of Engineered Axon Tracts to Bridge Spinal Cord Injury Beyond the Glial Scar in Rats. Tissue Eng Part A March 2021.Smith, D. H., Dolle, J. P., Ameen-Ali, K. E., Bretzin, A., Cortes, E., Crary, J. F., Dams-O'Connor, K., Diaz-Arrastia, R., Edlow, B. L., Folkerth, R., Hazrati, L. N., Hinds, S. R., Iacono, D., Johnson, V. E., Keene, C. D., Kofler, J., Kovacs, G. G., Lee, E. B., Manley, G., Meaney, D., Montine, T., Okonkwo, D. O., Perl, D. P., Trojanowski, J. Q., Wiebe, D. J., Yaffe, K., McCabe, T., Stewart, W.: COllaborative Neuropathology NEtwork Characterizing ouTcomes of TBI (CONNECT-TBI). Acta Neuropathol Commun 9(1): 32, March 2021.
Gan, Z. S., Stein, S. C., Swanson, R., Guan, S., Garcia, L., Mehta, D., Smith, D. H.: Blood Biomarkers for Traumatic Brain Injury: A Quantitative Assessment of Diagnostic and Prognostic Accuracy. Front Neurol 10: 446, 2019.
Smith, D. H., Stewart, W.: ''Concussion'' is not a true diagnosis. Nat Rev Neurol 16(9): 457-458, 2020.
Smith, D. H., Stewart, W.: Genetic interplay with soccer ball heading. Nat Rev Neurol 2020.
Chen, H. I., Jgamadze, D., Lim, J., Mensah-Brown, K., Wolf, J. A., Mills, J. A., Smith, D. H.: Functional Cortical Axon Tracts Generated from Human Stem Cell-Derived Neurons. Tissue Eng Part A 25(9-10): 736-745, 2019.
Johnson, V. E., Stewart, W., Smith, D. H.: Widespread tau and amyloid-beta pathology many years after a single traumatic brain injury in humans. Brain Pathol 22(2): 142-9, 2012.
Verma, R., Swanson, R. L., Parker, D., Ould Ismail, A. A., Shinohara, R. T., Alappatt, J. A., Doshi, J., Davatzikos, C., Gallaway, M., Duda, D., Chen, H. I., Kim, J. J., Gur, R. C., Wolf, R. L., Grady, M. S., Hampton, S., Diaz-Arrastia, R., Smith, D. H.: Neuroimaging Findings in US Government Personnel With Possible Exposure to Directional Phenomena in Havana, Cuba. JAMA 322(4): 336-347, 2019.
Dolle, J. P., Jaye, A., Anderson, S. A., Ahmadzadeh, H., Shenoy, V. B., Smith, D. H.: Newfound sex differences in axonal structure underlie differential outcomes from in vitro traumatic axonal injury. Exp Neurol 300: 121-134, 2018.
Ezra Sadik, M., Ozturk, A. K., Albayar, A., Branche, M., Zadnik Sullivan, P., Schlosser, L. O., Browne, K. D., Jaye, A. H., Smith, D. H.: A Strategy Toward Bridging a Complete Spinal Cord Lesion Using Stretch-Grown Axons. Tissue Eng Part A 2020.
Iwata, A., Stys, P. K., Wolf, J. A., Chen, X. H., Taylor, A. G., Meaney, D. F., Smith, D. H.: Traumatic axonal injury induces proteolytic cleavage of the voltage-gated sodium channels modulated by tetrodotoxin and protease inhibitors. J Neurosci 24(19): 4605-13, 2004.
Johnson, V. E., Stewart, W., Smith, D. H.: Axonal pathology in traumatic brain injury. Exp Neurol 246: 35-43, 2013.
Siman, R., Shahim, P., Tegner, Y., Blennow, K., Zetterberg, H., Smith, D. H.: Serum SNTF Increases in Concussed Professional Ice Hockey Players and Relates to the Severity of Postconcussion Symptoms. J Neurotrauma 32(17): 1294-300, 2015.
Smith, D. H., Hicks, R. R., Johnson, V. E., Bergstrom, D. A., Cummings, D. M., Noble, L. J., Hovda, D., Whalen, M., Ahlers, S. T., LaPlaca, M., Tortella, F. C., Duhaime, A. C., Dixon, C. E.: Pre-Clinical Traumatic Brain Injury Common Data Elements: Toward a Common Language Across Laboratories. J Neurotrauma 32(22): 1725-35, 2015.
Smith, D. H., Johnson, V. E., Trojanowski, J. Q., Stewart, W.: Chronic traumatic encephalopathy - confusion and controversies. Nat Rev Neurol 15(3): 179-183, 2019.
Smith, D. H., Stewart, W.: Tackling concussion, beyond Hollywood. Lancet Neurol 15(7): 662-663, 2016.
Swanson, R. L., 2nd, Hampton, S., Green-McKenzie, J., Diaz-Arrastia, R., Grady, M. S., Verma, R., Biester, R., Duda, D., Wolf, R. L., Smith, D. H.: Neurological Manifestations Among US Government Personnel Reporting Directional Audible and Sensory Phenomena in Havana, Cuba. JAMA 319(11): 1125-1133, 2018.
Tang-Schomer, M. D., Patel, A. R., Baas, P. W., Smith, D. H.: Mechanical breaking of microtubules in axons during dynamic stretch injury underlies delayed elasticity, microtubule disassembly, and axon degeneration. FASEB J 24(5): 1401-10, 2010.
Verma, R., Swanson, R. L., Smith, D. H.: Neuroimaging of US Government Personnel Exposed to Directional Phenomena-Reply. JAMA 322(22): 2249-2250, 2019.
Arena, J. D., Johnson, V. E., Lee, E. B., Gibbons, G. S., Smith, D. H., Trojanowski, J. Q., Stewart, W.: Astroglial tau pathology alone preferentially concentrates at sulcal depths in chronic traumatic encephalopathy neuropathologic change. Brain Commun 2(2): fcaa210, 2020.
Smith, D. H., Johnson, V. E., Stewart, W.: Chronic neuropathologies of single and repetitive TBI: substrates of dementia? Nat Rev Neurol 9(4): 211-21, 2013.