Faculty Profiles

Faculty & Staff, Div. I

Faculty & Staff, Div. II

Faculty & Staff, Div. III

School of Nursing Faculty

Ellen M. Lavoie Smith, PhD, ARNP, AOCN®
Assistant Professor of Nursing
Division of Acute, Critical and Long Term Care

University of Michigan School of Nursing
400 North Ingalls Building
Room 2151
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Telephone: (734) 936-1267
FAX: (734) 936-5525
ellenls@umich.edu

Education
PhD, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 2008
Post-Graduate Nurse Practitioner Certification, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, 1997
MSN, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, 1991
BSN, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, 1982

Research
Dr. Smith is an expert in chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy and neuropathic pain assessment and treatment. She also has expertise in the general topics of instrument development and cancer survivorship. She has received independent research funding from the National Cancer Institute, the Oncology Nursing Society, the American Cancer Society, and Dartmouth’s Center for Clinical Translational Science. Dr. Smith conducted a cross-sectional study evaluating the clinimetric properties of peripheral neuropathy and neuropathic pain measurement approaches (dissertation research). She also completed an Oncology Nursing Society-funded study focused on utilizing quality improvement methodology to improve neuropathic pain management in cancer patients. Currently, Dr. Smith is conducting a descriptive, cross-sectional, pilot study assessing the challenges of New Hampshire’s Caner Survivors utilizing web-based technology. In addition, she is a co-investigator of a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded multisite instrument development study focused on evaluating the quality of nursing care related to pain management. Lastly, Dr. Smith currently leads an ongoing multisite research trial through the national cooperative group Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB). This study (CALGB 170601) is a randomized, placebo-controlled trial investigating the efficacy of duloxetine for the treatment of painful chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.

Teaching
Dr. Smith has lectured nationally and internationally regarding multiple cancer-related topics. With over 22 years of experience as an oncology nurse, nurse practitioner, and nurse administrator, her primary areas of expertise are chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, neuropathic pain, instrument development, cancer survivorship program development, thoracic and head and neck oncology care, and other general oncology topics. Beginning in the fall of 2009, she will teach basic research to undergraduate nursing students.

Service
Dr. Smith is a nationally recognized leader in oncology nursing. She is the chair person of the Cancer and Leukemia Group B’s Oncology Nursing Committee, and instituted and co-leads this group’s first Nurse Scientist subcommittee. She has been an active member of the Oncology Nursing Committee, serving on several subcommittees over the years. Most recently, Dr. Smith served as a member of a National Institute of Health’s planning committee charged with orchestrating a State-of-the-Science meeting related to chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.