Kurt J Smith

Kurt Smith is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Smith completed his PhD investigating cerebrovascular function during exercise and following acclimatization to extreme environments (ie., altitude, heat stress) with the Centre for Heart Lung and Vascular Health at the University of British Columbia, Canada. His post-doctoral research at the University of Western Australia focused on clinical exercise physiology interventions aiming to improve cerebrovascular health in heart failure, dementia, and metabolic disorders.
Smiths' research at UIC aims to develop novel approaches to quantify and provoke cerebrovascular adaptation in health and disease through exercise and environmental physiology interventions. Other research interests involve sex differences in the cerebral vasculature, comparing cerebrovascular control in pediatric and aging populations, as well as integrating bio-engineering and machine learning approaches to enhance cerebrovascular structure and function in humans. Kurt recently began studying vascular function in individuals recovering from COVID19 infection.