Matthew J. Smith, PhD, MSW, MPE, LCSW, received his PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and completed post-doctoral fellowships in psychiatric epidemiology and biostatistics at Washington University in St. Louis and in translational neuroscience at Northwestern University. Smith also completed a fellowship on leading randomized controlled trials to evaluate behavioral interventions through the Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Smith is the director of the NIH-Funded Level Up: Employment Skills Simulation Lab. The mission of his lab is to develop and evaluate technology-based interventions to help obtain and sustain employment for people from marginalized and underserved communities. Specifically, Smith partners with members of the autism, mental health and system impacted communities to develop employment-focused tools and evaluate them in real world settings such as high schools, community mental health agencies and re-entry programs. The Level Up Lab has been funded through the National Institute of Mental Health (R01 MH110524, R34 MH111531, R44 MH123359, R01 MH112625, R01 MH132656),;the National Institute of Justice (2019-MU-MU-0004); the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (90IFRE0031, 90IFDV0032); the Kessler Foundation (1003-1958-SEG-FY2016); Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research; and U-M's Poverty Solutions. See research link below for more information on these projects.
Research Interests
Autism; Schizophrenia; Technology-based Interventions and Trainings; Social Neuroscience
Contact Information
Education
- 2006 PhD Social WelfareUniversity of Wisconsin, Madison
- 2008 MPE Psychiatric EpidemiologyWashington University, St. Louis, MO
- 2000 MSW Social Work IP/MHUniversity of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
- 1998 BS PsychologyUniversity of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Activities
Publications
Honors and Awards
| Year | Description |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 2024 MICHR Distinguished Clinical and Translational Research Mentor Award |
| 2023 | Innovation in Research and Teaching Award, School of Social Work, University of Michigan |
Presentations
| Year | Description |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Sherwood, K., & Smith, M. J. (2024, May). Prevalence and Experiences of AutisticMicroaggressions in the Workplace. [Poster presentation]. International Meeting for AutismResearch, Melbourne, Australia |
| 2024 | Smith, M.J., Sherwood, K., Genova, H., Ross, B., DaWalt, L., Bishop, L., Telfer, D., Brown, C.,Sanchez, B., and Kallen, M. A. (2024, May). Psychometric Properties of the Mock InterviewRating Scale for Autistic Transition-Age Youth. [Poster presentation]. International Meeting forAutism Research, Melbourne, Australia |
| 2024 | Smith, M.J., Sherwood, K., Sung, C., Williams, E. G., Ross, B., Sharma, S., Sharma, A.,Harrington, M., Brown, C., Telfer, D., Bond, J., Toda, S., Kearon, D., Morrow, S., Lovelace,T., Dababnah, S., Kattari, S. K., Magaña, S., Watkins, T., Liggett, C., Riddle, E., Smith, J. D.,Hume, K., Dawkins, T., Baker-Ericzén, M., Eack, S. M., Sinco, B., Burke-Miller, J., Olsen, D.,Elkins, J., Humm, L., Steacy, C. (2024, May). Randomized Controlled Trial of Workchat: AVirtual Workday, Preliminary Findings. [Poster presentation]. International Meeting for AutismResearch, Melbourne, Australia |
| 2024 | Smith, M.J., Sherwood, K., Sung, C., Williams, E. G., Ross, B., Sharma, S., Sharma, A.,Harrington, M., Brown, C., Telfer, D., Bond, J., Toda, S., Kearon, D., Morrow, S., Lovelace,T., Dababnah, S., Kattari, S. K., Magaña, S., Watkins, T., Liggett, C., Riddle, E., Smith, J. D.,Hume, K., Dawkins, T., Baker-Ericzén, M., Eack, S. M., Sinco, B., Burke-Miller, J., Olsen, D.,Elkins, J., Humm, L., Steacy, C. (2024, May). Demonstrating "Workchat: A Virtual Workday"and Its Initial Implementation Process Outcomes. [Poster presentation]. International Meeting forAutism Research, Melbourne, Australia |
| 2024 | Smith, M. J., Harrington, M., Ross, B., Mitchell, J., Funcke, L., Brydon, D. M., Cuddeback, G. S.,Bell, M. D., Kaminski, K., Kryscio, P., Seal, D., Friedman, B., Suganuma, A., & Smith, J. D.(2024, October). Leveling Up Employment Outcomes for Returning Citizens: Results of an RCTevaluating Virtual Reality Job Interview Training Delivered in a Pre-Release Trades Program.National Reentry Workforce Collaborative Annual Conference, Denver, CO. |
Courses
Past Courses
| Title | Instructor | Term | Course Section | Meeting Start | Meeting End | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grant Writing for Extramural Research Funding | Bornheimer, Lindsay A. | Winter 2026 | 001 | 09:00 am | 12:00 pm | View Course |
| Grant Writing for Extramural Research Funding | Smith, Matthew J. | Winter 2025 | 001 | 09:00 am | 12:00 pm | View Course |
| Grant Writing for Extramural Research Funding | Smith, Matthew J. | Winter 2024 | 001 | 09:00 am | 12:00 pm | View Course |
| Grant Writing for Extramural Research Funding | Smith, Matthew J. | Winter 2023 | 001 | 09:00 am | 12:00 pm | View Course |
| Evaluating Behavioral Interventions in Randomized Controlled Trials | Smith, Matthew J. | Fall 2022 | 001 | 09:00 am | 12:00 pm | View Course |
| Grant Writing for Extramural Research Funding | Smith, Matthew J. | Winter 2021 | 001 | 09:00 am | 12:00 pm | View Course |
| Grant Writing for Extramural Research Funding | Smith, Matthew J. | Winter 2020 | 001 | 09:00 am | 12:00 pm | View Course |
| Grant Writing for Extramural Research Funding | Smith, Matthew J. | Winter 2019 | 001 | 09:00 am | 12:00 pm | View Course |
| Interpersonal Practice with Adult Individuals | Smith, Matthew J. | Winter 2018 | 001 | 09:00 am | 12:00 pm | View Course |