He is recognized in the field of Alzheimer's disease research particularly for his work on oxidative stress, mitochondria dysfunction and cell cycle re-entry and, with a h-index of 73 and over 800 peer-review articles and reviews that have received over 21,000 citations,[3] he was named as one of the top Alzheimer's disease researchers in the world,[4] one of the top 100 most-cited scientists in Neuroscience & Behavior[5] and one of the top 25 scientists in free radical research.
After a brief immersion in the pharmaceutical industry as a postdoctoral biochemist in the Division of Immunodermatology at Sandoz Forschungsinstitut (now Novartis) in Vienna, Austria, he began working in 1992 at Case Western Reserve University where he was one of the most prolific and the most cited faculty member on campus, numerically accounting for over 1% of publications and 4% of citations over the past years (data from Institute for Scientific Information).
Further this research involves a variety of techniques including histology, state of the art molecular and cell biology and cellular and animal models of disease that are directed toward diagnostic, mechanistic, and therapeutic strategies.
[citation needed] Smith served on the Professional Advisory Board of the Cleveland chapter of the Alzheimer's Association and was Team Captain of a group of local researchers ("A Cure From Cleveland") that participates in the annual fund raising Memory Walk for the Alzheimer's Association.
In addition, Smith donated his time as a frequent guest speaker at local caregiver groups and at a variety of community events.