Background
Karen L. Smith, M.D., is a medical oncologist specializing in breast cancer at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Sibley Memorial Hospital, and a member of the Johns Hopkins Breast Cancer Program and the Ovarian Cancer Program. Dr. Smith is also an assistant professor of oncology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Dr. Smith has an expertise in breast cancer, cancer genetics, cancer survivorship, clinical trials and toxicology.
Dr. Smith earned her medical degree from Rush Medical College. She completed a residency in internal medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, followed by a fellowship in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Smith also earned a Master of Public Health degree with an emphasis on epidemiology from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School to build a foundation for conducting clinical research. She went on to complete a fellowship in hematology and oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
Before joining Johns Hopkins, Dr. Smith focused on the care of an underserved breast cancer patient population at MedStar Washington Hospital Center (WHC) and sat on the Clinical Research Committee for the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. She also oversaw the WHC survivorship program and accreditation through the Commission on Cancer, and served as an assistant professor of medicine in hematology and oncology at Georgetown University School of Medicine.
Dr. Smith has led the expansion of the breast cancer clinical trial portfolio at Sibley and has participated in the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Leadership Program for Women Faculty. She is a member of the Alliance for Patient Access of the Oncology Therapy Working Group; the American College of Cardiology Cardio-Oncology Patient Education Editorial Team; the American Society of Clinical Oncology; and the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group. Dr. Smith is also the co-leader of Johns Hopkins Symptoms and Quality of Life Research Track "Building Lifestyles, Outcomes and Care Services Research in Cancer" Program.
Dr. Smith has contributed to numerous peer-reviewed papers and book chapters regarding her research interests in cancer survivorship, treatment adherence, patient-reported outcomes, disparities, reducing the toxicities of cancer therapies, reproductive health issues in breast cancer patients and clinical trials.
Dr. Smith is an ad hoc reviewer for the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, Cancer Biology and Therapy, SpringerPlus, BioMed Central, Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Center Network, Journal of Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology and Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Dr. Smith has earned the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Master of Public Health Capstone Award and an American Society of Clinical Oncology Young Investigator Award, both for her research expertise. She is currently conducting research with funding from the Johns Hopkins Catalyst Award, the Under Armour Women's Health and Breast Cancer Innovation Grant, and the Sloan Fund Research Council from Sibley.
Patient Ratings & Comments
The Patient Rating score is an average of all responses to physician related questions on the national CG-CAHPS Medical Practice patient experience survey through Press Ganey. Responses are measured on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the best score. Comments are also gathered from our CG-CAHPS Medical Practice Survey through Press Ganey and displayed in their entirety. Patients are de-identified for confidentiality and patient privacy.