Patrick Smith

Patrick Smith, PhD

Dr. Patrick Smith is a clinical psychologist and biostatistician with expertise in both behavioral medicine and neuropsychology. After obtaining his PhD at Duke he completed two separate postdoctoral trainings: first in behavioral medicine and second in clinical neuropsychology. Although he completed his doctoral training at Duke, he is a lifelong North Carolinian and in 2022 returned to UNC-CH, his alma mater, where he originally graduated with undergraduate degrees in music performance and psychology. He has worked extensively on behavioral trials examining the effects of physical activity, dietary modification, and coping skills trainings on cognitive and mental health outcomes. He is particularly interested in mechanistically-focused trials linking changes in biomarkers and behavioral markers to meaningful clinical outcomes. His work examining lifestyle modification to mitigate cognitive decline, for example, has focused on improving cardiometabolic biomarkers through behavioral weight loss as a means of slowing cognitive decline in sedentary older adults. His is currently the principal investigator for a trial examining time restricted fasting to improve cognitive and metabolic health among adults with mild cognitive impairment (R61AG080615-01). He also recently served as the principal investigator for an NHLBI-funded R01 (HL130237) examining cerebrovascular and endothelial mechanisms of cognitive impairment among patients with treatment-resistant hypertension, and serves as a co-investigator on several trials examining whether enhancing psychological flexibility improves mental health outcomes and behavioral compliance. He was previously a standing member of the Behavioral Medicine, Interventions and Outcomes (BMIO) study section and the Biobehavioral Medicine and Health Outcomes (BMHO) study section.

Research Interests: SMART designs, precision behavioral medicine, and clinical trials