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Assistant Research Scientist
NYU Langone Medical Center
Michelle Smith, MPH, CHES is an Assistant Research Scientist in the NYU Rusk Rehabilitation Department of Research and Co-Investigator deeply rooted in community-based research and recognition of Social Determinants of Health (SDoH). With 20 years of professional experience and interest in public health and health communications, Ms. Smith’s research goals are to provide vital information to patients and their loved ones in order to help improve their health, particularly in underserved and under-resourced communities. After receiving her Master’s in Public Health with a focus on health promotion, she managed the development and implementation of two research studies to improve health in the underserved community of Harlem, NY. She partnered with community members and organizations to develop and maintain a geographically tailored, culturally-relevant and health literacy appropriate website, and led a randomized-controlled trial to find the best ways to reduce hypertension in the Upper Manhattan communities of Harlem, Washington Heights and Inwood.
In her current role, Ms. Smith manages various neuro-rehabilitation studies, primarily centered on the local Rusk Rehabilitation Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems database (RRTBIMS), a center in the nationwide longitudinal database to examine the natural course of TBI from the acute stage through rehabilitation treatment and long-term effects many years post-injury. As Co-Investigator of RRTBIMS site-specific study “Traumatic Brain Injury as a Chronic Condition”, she spear-headed the mixed-methods study to understand how low-resource community members understand and manage life with a moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).