Before earning her Ph.D. in epidemiology, Becky Smith trained as a doctor of veterinary medicine. This combination of disciplines grounds Smith’s approach to promoting research uptake.
“One of the things we are taught in vet school is to be certain you know what the client wants from you,” said Smith, associate professor of epidemiology in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Health Innovation Professor at the Carle Illinois College of Medicine. “You are part of a team. You are not the only one involved. So I am not doing research simply for the sake of doing research; I’m doing research for the people.”
In many cases, those people are residents of Illinois, yet the implications of Smith’s work extend beyond the state. Her research examines what causes diseases to spread and how best to stop them—that is, on surveilling, forecasting, preventing and controlling infectious diseases. Part of that work involves modeling environmental factors or animal behavior, but part of it also requires understanding human decision-making in disease spread, prevention and control. For the constituencies of her research, Smith is always looking for the messages that will most clearly and effectively convey her findings.
“Illinois is home to a number of vector-borne diseases,” she said, “including Lyme disease and alpha-gal syndrome, which is not a pathogen but can cause an allergy to mammalian meat. Often, hunters and farmers hear about Lyme disease and think, ‘Oh, I’ll just get some antibiotics. I’ll be fine.’ But when you say to that same hunter or farmer that they might not ever be able to eat steak or a hamburger again? Now they’re paying attention. Everybody in Southern Illinois knows someone with alpha-gal. It might be our best communication asset.”
Just as important as compelling storytelling is the development of tools for translating data that would be otherwise difficult to parse.
“My lab does a lot of stats and math,” Smith said, “and I’m not expecting anyone in the field to be able to automatically apply it. The tools we create allow people to apply all the stats and math that we’ve developed.”
A prime example is a tool that her lab created for making data about insecticide resistance actionable. The CDC offers free bottle bioassays kits for measuring resistance in mosquitos, and although these are accurate and in high demand, their results can be cumbersome to interpret. Understanding data requires inputting test results into a spreadsheet preloaded with formulas, after which the user compares the formula-generated numbers to numbers in a separate PDF that confirm their validity. Finally, the user opens a third file that explains how to interpret the formulas’ outputs.
“Instead, we created a shiny app that automatically generates a report, a graph of their data, and the analysis with recommended next steps,” she said, “It’s making things easier for people who are not data savvy.”
A similar approach drives Smith’s research with the Family Resiliency Center (FRC) as it contributes to the Midwest Alliance for Applied Genomic Epidemiology (MAAGE). Using participatory methods to understand the practices of end users and incorporate their experiences and preferences, MAAGE seeks to develop a genomic surveillance tool that can more accurately capture data about disease transmission. The project strives to maximize the likelihood that this surveillance tool will be put to use in the field by asking public health professionals and clinicians about their priorities for genomic tools and tailoring trainings for these users.
“I’m really excited about the education portion of this genomics-for-public-health project,” said Smith, “I’m big on training. Let’s teach the people who are going to be on the front lines. Let’s help them talk to the general public.”
Smith’s enthusiasm for capacity building is infectious, yet she is careful to emphasize the labor required for collaborative and participatory work.
“Transdisciplinary research is hard,” she said, “It takes a lot of time and dedication for us to even speak the same language. You have to be dedicated to make transdisciplinary research work. You’re not going to be an expert in almost anything you’re doing. You have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.”