{"id":8,"date":"2025-01-23T10:00:15","date_gmt":"2025-01-23T10:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/?page_id=5"},"modified":"2026-04-10T19:18:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T19:18:35","slug":"home","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/","title":{"rendered":"Educational Background &amp; Research"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"979\" height=\"646\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1350\/2025\/01\/canvas-welcome.jpg?resize=979%2C646&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-60\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.5155164427975916;width:406px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1350\/2025\/01\/canvas-welcome.jpg?w=979&amp;ssl=1 979w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1350\/2025\/01\/canvas-welcome.jpg?resize=300%2C198&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1350\/2025\/01\/canvas-welcome.jpg?resize=768%2C507&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 979px) 100vw, 979px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n<h1><span style=\"color: #005035\">About Dr. Smith<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><strong>Christopher (Chris) M. Smith, PhD, MSN, RN, GCQM<\/strong> is an Assistant Professor, tenure track, at the<span style=\"color: #333300\"> University of North Carolina at Charlotte. D<\/span>r. Smith earned his PhD from East Carolina University, where his research was shaped by resilience and adaptability, and defined by a commitment to quantitative rigor. Though his early work focused on relationships between behavioral sleep and cardiometabolic outcomes, clinic restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic forced Dr. Smith to pivot his study.<\/p>\n<p>Subsequently, Dr. Smith shifted his dissertation to instrument development to cultivate his interest in psychometrics and latent variable modeling (Smith et al<span style=\"color: #333300\">., 2024a, 2024b). Using the unexpected clinic restriction as a fortuitous opportunity to further develop his methodological skills, Dr. Smith earned a post-graduate certificate in Quantitative Methods for Social and Behavioral Sciences from ECU&#8217;s Department of Psychology under the supervision of Drs. Alex Schoemann and Mark Bowler. Dr. Smith\u2019s<\/span> methodological skills support his biobehavioral approach to studying psychoneuroimmunometabolism in cardiometabolic health.<\/p>\n<h1><span style=\"color: #005035\">Educational Background<\/span><\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #333300\">PhD, 2022, <span style=\"color: #3366ff\"><a style=\"color: #3366ff\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ecu.edu\">East Carolina University<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #333300\">Post-Master Certificate, 2021, <span style=\"color: #3366ff\"><a style=\"color: #3366ff\" href=\"https:\/\/psychology.ecu.edu\/\">ECU Dept of Psychology<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #333300\">MSN, 2018, <span style=\"color: #3366ff\"><a style=\"color: #3366ff\" href=\"https:\/\/www.appstate.edu\/\">Appalachian State University<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #333300\">BSN, 2016, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.appstate.edu\/\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff\">Appalachian State University<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #333300\">ADN, 2001, <span style=\"color: #3366ff\"><a style=\"color: #3366ff\" href=\"https:\/\/www.waynecc.edu\/\">Wayne Community College<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignfull size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1350\/2025\/01\/Untitled3.png\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"8\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1350\/2025\/01\/Untitled3.png?resize=1024%2C8\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-119\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1350\/2025\/01\/Untitled3.png?resize=1024%2C8&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1350\/2025\/01\/Untitled3.png?resize=300%2C2&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1350\/2025\/01\/Untitled3.png?resize=768%2C6&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1350\/2025\/01\/Untitled3.png?resize=1536%2C11&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1350\/2025\/01\/Untitled3.png?w=1613&amp;ssl=1 1613w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n<h1><span style=\"color: #005035\">Research Interest<\/span><\/h1>\n<p>Dr. Smith\u2019s research program operates at the<strong> intersection of systemic neuroimmunometabolism and psychoneuroimmunology in cardiometabolic health in rural and underserved populations.<\/strong> His work is aimed at discovering the specific metabolic and inflammatory mechanisms that drive cardiovascular outcomes. His <span style=\"color: #3366ff\"><a style=\"color: #3366ff\" href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/lab\/Human-Cardiometabolic-Dynamics-Lab-Christopher-M-Smith\">Human Cardiometabolic Dynamics Lab<\/a><\/span> employs a biobehavioral and broad omics approach (emphasizing metabolomics and lipidomics) to map the pathways through which behavioral and environmental stressors manifest as cardiometabolic dysfunction.<\/p>\n<p>Within this framework, Dr. Smith is particularly interested in developing biobehavioral models to detect immunometabolic shifts in younger populations and predict disease before long-term and irreversible health impacts occur. Dr. Smith\u2019s research emphasizes <a href=\"https:\/\/lifestylemedicine.org\/\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff\">functional lifestyle strategies<\/span><\/a> that target the <span style=\"color: #3366ff\"><a style=\"color: #3366ff\" href=\"https:\/\/www.teladochealth.com\/organizations\/resources\/the-four-pillars-of-better-cardiometabolic-health\">pillars of cardiometabolic health<\/a><\/span>: nutrition, sleep hygiene, physical activity, and psychological wellness. These pillars are critical targets for improving cardiometabolic health and preventing and managing disease. \u00a0Specifically, he investigates high-impact interventional strategies such as low-insulinogenic nutritional models to modulate systemic inflammation, resistance training to optimize mitochondrial density, pre-sleep optimization techniques, and contemplative meditative practices aimed at regulating the psychoneuroimmunological axis.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Smith is also interested in exploring the long-term psychoneuroimmunological impact of childhood abuse trauma on adult cardiometabolic health. He is interested specifically in how <a href=\"https:\/\/psychedelics.berkeley.edu\/substances\/\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff\">classical serotonergic psychedelics<\/span><\/a> (LSD, psilocybin, DMT, and mescaline) may be leveraged to facilitate trauma processing to address the upstream psychoneuroimmunological drivers of unhealthy behaviors to improve downstream immunometabolic profiles and long-term cardiovascular outcomes. Broadly, Dr. Smith\u2019s work is dedicated to advancing health equity and person-centered care through scientifically validating functional lifestyle interventions. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"color: #005035\">Methodological Interests<\/span><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\">Dr. Smith\u2019s methodological interests are primarily quantitative, multivariate, based in the regression tradition, and include psychometrics, structural equation modeling, latent variable modeling, linear mixed models, hierarchical models, and mediation\/moderation\/conditional processes. He also appreciates mixed methods and has experience with qualitative methodologies including interpretive description and phenomenology as well as systematic review methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignfull size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1350\/2025\/01\/Untitled3.png\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"8\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1350\/2025\/01\/Untitled3.png?resize=1024%2C8\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-119\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1350\/2025\/01\/Untitled3.png?resize=1024%2C8&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1350\/2025\/01\/Untitled3.png?resize=300%2C2&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1350\/2025\/01\/Untitled3.png?resize=768%2C6&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1350\/2025\/01\/Untitled3.png?resize=1536%2C11&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1350\/2025\/01\/Untitled3.png?w=1613&amp;ssl=1 1613w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n<h1><span style=\"color: #005035\">Collaboration<\/span><\/h1>\n<h5><em><strong>Dr. Smith is currently seeking collaborators. <\/strong><\/em><\/h5>\n<p>Dr. Smith is passionate about interdisciplinary approaches to research and works well with others. He has been awarded an <a href=\"https:\/\/acmedsci.ac.uk\/\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff\">Academy of Medical Sciences<\/span><\/a> grant, <a href=\"https:\/\/professional.heart.org\/en\/professional-membership\/scientific-councils\/cvsn\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff\">American Heart Association Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing<\/span><\/a> travel grant, and two <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sigmanursing.org\/\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff\">Sigma Theta Tau<\/span><\/a> research grants to support his research. Dr. Smith has disseminated his research via publications and conference presentations, including the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ahajournals.org\/doi\/10.1161\/circ.152.suppl_3.4361931\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff\">2025 American Heart Association Scientific Sessions Conference<\/span><\/a> where he presented work on how <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ahajournals.org\/doi\/10.1161\/circ.152.suppl_3.4361931\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff\">metabolic pathways differ in Black adults with heart failure with and without diabetes<\/span><\/a> via moderated digital presentation.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignfull size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1350\/2025\/01\/Untitled3.png\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"8\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1350\/2025\/01\/Untitled3.png?resize=1024%2C8\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-119\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1350\/2025\/01\/Untitled3.png?resize=1024%2C8&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1350\/2025\/01\/Untitled3.png?resize=300%2C2&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1350\/2025\/01\/Untitled3.png?resize=768%2C6&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1350\/2025\/01\/Untitled3.png?resize=1536%2C11&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1350\/2025\/01\/Untitled3.png?w=1613&amp;ssl=1 1613w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n<h1><span style=\"color: #005035\">Spare Time<\/span><\/h1>\n<p>Dr. Smith&#8217;s extracurricular interests include scientific writing and studying logic, philosophy (including Hellenistic varieties, <a href=\"https:\/\/plato.stanford.edu\/entries\/hume\/\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff\">Humeanism<\/span><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/plato.stanford.edu\/entries\/skepticism\/\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff\">skepticism<\/span><\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/plato.stanford.edu\/entries\/determinism-causal\/\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff\">causal determinism<\/span><\/a>), Hatha yoga, nondual contemplative meditative philosophies (Buddhist: Dzogchen, Vipassana, Zen and Hindu: Advaita Vedanta, s\u0101dhan\u0101s, respectively), psychonautics, spirituality, and the evolution of <span style=\"color: #3366ff\"><a style=\"color: #3366ff\" href=\"https:\/\/plato.stanford.edu\/entries\/consciousness\/\">human consciousness.<\/a><\/span>\u00a0Dr. Smith is active in the psychedelic science community and passionate about legislative reform aimed at re\/descheduling classical psychedelics (<span style=\"color: #3366ff\"><a style=\"color: #3366ff\" href=\"https:\/\/psychedelics.berkeley.edu\/substances\/\">LSD, psilocybin, mescaline &amp; DMT<\/a><\/span>), as well as harm reduction strategies, education, and safe use of psychedelics as pathways toward holotropism and psychological and spiritual wellness.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignfull size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1350\/2025\/01\/Untitled3.png\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"8\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1350\/2025\/01\/Untitled3.png?resize=1024%2C8\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-119\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1350\/2025\/01\/Untitled3.png?resize=1024%2C8&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1350\/2025\/01\/Untitled3.png?resize=300%2C2&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1350\/2025\/01\/Untitled3.png?resize=768%2C6&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1350\/2025\/01\/Untitled3.png?resize=1536%2C11&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1350\/2025\/01\/Untitled3.png?w=1613&amp;ssl=1 1613w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"color: #000000\"><a href=\"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff\">Go to Home<\/span><\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/scholarship\/\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff\">Go to Scholarship<\/span><\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/teaching\/\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff\">Go to Teaching<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>About Dr. Smith Christopher (Chris) M. Smith, PhD, MSN, RN, GCQM is an Assistant Professor, tenure track, at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Dr. Smith earned his PhD from East Carolina University, where his research was shaped by resilience and adaptability, and defined by a commitment to quantitative rigor. Though his early work [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4658,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-8","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4658"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8"}],"version-history":[{"count":89,"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":389,"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8\/revisions\/389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/christophersmith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}