Who We Are » Richard Smith, Ph.D.

Dr. Richard Smith joined National Genetics Institute in 1995 as operations manager of the nucleic acid extraction and pre-amplification division and also served as director of research and development during the early phases of NGI's growth. Currently serving as the company-wide vice president of operations, Dr. Smith has been a major contributor to all FDA submissions some of which resulted in NGI being the first organization to obtain FDA approval for PCR testing to screen blood or plasma donors for viral infection. Dr. Smith is the primary contact for most of the company's major customers and is intimately involved in the design and implementation of computer systems as well as operational procedures.

Prior to joining NGI, Dr. Smith completed his doctoral studies at the University of California, Los Angeles in the department of molecular biology and molecular genetics. His thesis involved study of the structure and function of human antibody constant regions as well as the design and production of novel human antibody variants. Immediately following his degree Dr. Smith completed a brief post-doctoral fellowship in the biotechnology industry using advanced molecular biology techniques to produce more potent forms of the company's primary therapeutic product.

Publications

Dynamics of Viremia in Early Hepatitis C Virus Infection. Glynn SA, Wright DJ, Kleinman SH, Hirschkorn D, Tu Y, Heldebrant C, Smith R, Giachetti C, Gallarda J and Busch MP. Transfusion 45(6) 994-1002, June 2005.

Intermittent Low-Level Viremia In Very Early Primary HIV-1 Infection. Fiebig EW, Heldebrant C, Smith RIF, Conrad AJ, Delwart EL and Busch MP. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome 39(2) 133-137, June 2005.

Analytical and Clinical Sensitivity of West Nile Virus RNA Screening and Supplemental Assays Available in 2003. Busch MP, Tobler LH, Saldanha J, Caglioti S, Shyamala V, Linnen JM, Gallarda J, Phelps B, Smith RIF, Drebot M and Kleinman SH. Transfusion 45(4) 492-499, April 2005.

Dynamics of HIV viremia and antibody seroconversion in plasma donors: implications for diagnosis and staging of primary HIV infection. Fiebig EW, D. Wright D, Rawal B, Garrett P, Schumacher R, Peddada L, Heldebrant C, Smith R, Conrad A, Kleinman S and Busch M. AIDS 17(13) 1871-1879, September 2003.

Homogeneous quasispecies in 16 out of 17 individuals during very early HIV-1 primary infection. Delwart EL, Magierowska M, Royz M, Foley B, Peddada L, Smith R, Heldebrant C, Conrad A and Busch M. AIDS 16(2) 189-195, January 2002.

Minimization of chronic plasma viremia in rhesus macaques immunized with synthetic HIV-1 Tat peptides and infected with a chimeric simian/human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV33). Goldstein G, Manson K, Tribbick G and Smith R. Vaccine 18: 2789-2795, September 2000.

Stability of HCV RNA for pooled genome amplification testing (GAT). Stramer SL, Porter RA, Brodsky JP, Waldman KJ, Pollack SR, Dodd RY, Smith RIF, Billyard B and Rainin L. Vox Sanguinis 74:10, 1998.

Sensitivity of HIV and HCV RNA Detection by Pooled Genome Amplification Testing (GAT). Stramer SL, Porter RA, Brodsky JP, Waldman KJ, Dodd RY, Smith RIF and Billyard B. Vox Sanguinis 74:1102, 1998.

Large Scale PCR Screening of Pooled Plasma Samples for HIV-1 and HCV. Smith R and Heldebrant C. Advances in Transfusion Safety. Developing Biological Standards published by Basel and Karger, vol. 102, pages 109-111, 2000.

Addition of a -tailpiece to IgG results in polymeric antibodies with enhanced effector functions including complement-mediated cytolysis by IgG4. Smith RIF, Coloma MJ and Morrison SL. Journal of Immunology 154(5) 2226-2236, March 1995.

Recombinant polymeric IgG: an approach to engineering more potent antibodies. Smith RIF and Morrison SL. Bio/Technology, 12(7) 683-688, July 1994.

Structural determinants of human IgG function. Morrison SL, Smith RIF and Wright A. The Immunologist, 2(4) 119-124, July/August 1994.

Structural determinants of human IgG function. Tao MH, Smith RIF and Morrison SL. Structural determinants of human IgG function. Journal of Experimental Medicine, 178(2) 661-667, August 1 1993

Identification of novel loci affecting entry of Salmonella enteritidis into eukaryotic cells. Stone BJ, Garcia CM, Badger JL, Hassett TM, Smith RIF and Miller VL. Journal of Bacteriology, 174(12) 3945-3952, June 1992.