Associate Professor Smith leads the Translational and Human Immunology Laboratory at QIMR Berghofer, Brisbane, Australia. He joined QIMR Berghofer in 2004 to develop T cell therapies for viral-associated diseases. He developed the EBV-specific T cell therapy for MS and EBV-associated diseases, and was instrumental in QIMR Berghofer receiving the first TGA licence to manufacture T cells for adoptive cell therapy. This was critical in the successful licencing of QIMR-Berghofer’s EBV immunotherapy program to ATARA Biotherapeutics. He led the development of other T cell immunotherapies including to treat CMV-associated diseases. This work is now supported by the QIMR Berghofer spin-off, Cyteph Pty Ltd. He co-leads the research program developing a multi-virus T cell therapy approach to treat disease in immunocompromised adults and children. These cells are now provided for compassionate use Australia wide.  His group recently completed a Phase I clinical study using T cell therapy to treat patients with COVID-19.