Associate Professor
keriayn_smith@med.unc.edu | Keriayn Smith‘s Website
Research Areas:RNA biology, noncoding RNAs, gene editing, bioinformatics, data analytics, stem cell biology, epigenetics
Keriayn Smith joins the School of Data Science and Society, with a secondary appointment in the department of genetics in the School of Medicine. She is an academic scientist whose wet-lab research focuses on RNA biology, particularly the molecular interactions that dictate function. The computational arm of her research program leverages various ‘omics approaches, coupled with machine learning to uncover roles for noncoding RNAs.
Smith holds B.Sc, M.Phil, and Ph.D degrees in biochemistry/biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of the West Indies and the University of Georgia respectively, and earned data science qualifications through a MSQM with a specialization in business analytics from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. She is passionate about community service, exemplified by various board and committee roles on- and off-campus. Smith’s entrepreneurship interests and dedication to STEM education are demonstrated through her founding of a multinational 501(c)3 organization, the Society for Scientific Advancement, which serves geographically-diverse, underserved and underrepresented students in STEM fields.