Angela Smith, MD, MS, vice-chair of academic affairs at UNC School of Medicine’s urology department, receives the 2020 Phillip and Ruth Hettleman Prize. Dr. Smith will be awarded $5,000 and will publicly present her research during the Hettleman Lectures, the kick-off event for University Research Week.
Angela Smith, MD, MS, associate professor and vice chair of academic affairs at UNC School of Medicine’s Department of Urology, and director of urologic oncology at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, is one of four UNC-Chapel Hill faculty members to receive the 2020 Phillip and Ruth Hettleman Prize for Artistic and Scholarly Achievement.
Established by the late Phillip Hettleman, a member of the Carolina class of 1921, and his wife Ruth, this award has been recognizing the achievements of outstanding junior faculty since 1986. During the September Faculty Council Meeting, Dr. Smith was recognized for her groundbreaking and innovative research and received a $5,000 prize. Dr. Smith will deliver a virtual presentation on her research along with the three other recipients during University Research Week, an annual celebration of Carolina’s research excellence.
Dr. Smith’s research focuses on health services and biostatistics, with interests in patient-centered outcomes, risk stratification, and quality of care for invasive bladder cancer. At the NC Cancer Hospital, she treats patients with GU malignancies, including bladder, prostate and kidney cancers.
Smith, an internationally recognized expert in bladder cancer, stakeholder engagement, patient-reported outcomes in urology, and mobile health (mHealth) interventions, has published more than 75 peer-reviewed research papers and has been the principal investigator co-principal investigator on a number of grant-funded studies, including co-PI for the PCORI large pragmatic trial in BCG refractory bladder cancer, PI for a PCORI Engagement Award with the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network to engage patients in the research process, and she has been funded by an AHRQ K08 grant that integrates patient-reported outcomes into post-cystectomy care through mobile health technology.
Smith also serves as the assistant secretary of the American Urological Association (AUA) and is on the AUA Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Committee, the Scientific Advisory Board for the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network, the Journal of Urology Editorial Board, and is chair of the Urology Care Foundation Bladder Health Committee. Dr. Smith received her medical degree and master’s in clinical research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she also completed her urology residency.
“Dr. Smith is far and away the most inspired and inspiring surgeon-scientist I have ever had the privilege of working with, and it is my strong belief that her work is nothing short of groundbreaking, in multiple dimensions,” said Matthew Nielsen, interim chair and professor in the Department of Urology.