CV - Vince Smith

Name:

Vincent Stuart Smith

Date & Place of Birth:

1 March, 1975; Somerset, England

Citizenship:

British

Office Address:

	Illinois Natural History Survey
	607 East Peabody Drive
	Champaign
	Illinois
	61820-6970
	United States

	Tel. +1 (217) 265-0831
	Fax. +1 (217) 333-4949
	E-mail: vsmith@inhs.uiuc.edu
	iChat Video Conferencing: vsmithuk@mac.com
	http://darwin.zoology.gla.ac.uk/~vsmith/

Appointments:

Illinois Natural History Survey, University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana Campus, USA.

2004 - present, Research Scientist, Center for Biodiversity

Institute of Biomedical & Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, UK.

2001 - 2004, Wellcome Trust Junior Research Fellow (Biodiversity)

Education:

Oct. 1996 - Jan. 2000	PhD (Insect systematics and evolutionary biology)	University of Glasgow	Awarded May, 2000
Oct. 1993 - June 1996	B.Sc. (Hon.), Biology	University of Bristol	2:1 (69 %)

Grants and Honours:

In review: Of lice and men: the coevolutionary history of hominids and their parasitic lice. Currently in joint review by the Physical Anthropology and Population and Evolutionary Processes programs at the National Science Foundation. Co-written with David Reed (University of Florida). I am a Co-PI on this project. ($311,371 USD requested) [=£165,164 GBP]

2005-2008: BioCorder: a biodiversity inventory tracking system. Biological Databases and Informatics program, National Science Foundation. Co-written with David Reed (University of Florida). R.D.M. Page (University of Glasgow) and M.S. Hafner (Louisiana State University) are Co-PI's on this project. ($474,444 USD) [=£251,694 GBP]

2001-2004: Evolutionary constraints on pathogen exchange: a case study with sucking lice. Junior Research Training Fellowship in Biodiversity, Wellcome Trust. (£141,000 GBP) [=$266,965 USD].

2001: Second International Congress of Lice and Louse-Borne Pathogens held, July 8 - 12, 2002 in Brisbane Australia. Wellcome Trust, conference support fund. (£3,000 GBP) [=$5,680 USD].

1999: Winner of the first prize for the best student talk presented at the 1999 Systematics Association conference in Glasgow, Scotland (awarded £500 book tokens).

1998: from the Systematic Association to part fund molecular work examining rates of molecular evolution in avian lice (£700).

Peer Reviewed Publications:

Submitted

Dalgleish, R. C., Palma, R. L., Price, R. D., Smith, V. S. Submitted. Fossil lice reconsidered.

Accepted / In Press

Smith, V.S. Accepted. Phthiraptera (parasitic lice), In 'Identification handbook of the insects and arachnids of Greenland' (J. Böcher, ed.) University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen.

2005

Smith, V.S. DNA Barcoding: Perspectives from a “Partnerships for Enhancing Expertise in Taxonomy” (PEET) Debate. Systematic Biology. 54 (5): 841-844.

2004

Reed, D.L., Smith, V.S., Rogers, A.R., Hammond, S.L., Clayton, D.H. Molecular genetic analysis of human lice supports direct contact between modern and archaic humans. Public Library of Science (PLoS) - Biology. 2 (11): e340.

Koh, L.P., Dunn, R.D., Sodhi, N.S., Colwell, R.K., Proctor, H.C., Smith, V.S. Species co-extinctions and the biodiversity crisis. Science. 305, no. 5690. pp. 1632-1634.

Wappler, T., Smith, V.S., Dalgleish R.C. Scratching an ancient itch: an Eocene bird louse fossil. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B (Suppl.), Biology Letters. 271, no. S5: 255-258.

Smith, V.S., Page, R.D.M., Johnson, K.P. Data incongruence and the problem of avian louse phylogeny. Zoologica Scripta. 33: 239-259.

Smith, V.S. Phthiraptera: Chewing and sucking lice, In (Gale Research Staff, ed.) Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Vol 3 (Insects), Gale Group, USA. pp. 249-257.

Page, R.D.M., Cruickshank, R.H., Dickens, M., Furness, R.W., Kennedy, M., Palma, R.L., Smith, V.S. Phylogeny of the "Philoceanus-complex" seabird lice (Phthirpatera: Ischnocera) inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 30: 633-652.

Smith, V.S. Lousy phylogenies: Phthiraptera systematics and the antiquity of lice. Proceedings of the Meeting on Phylogenetic Relationships within the Insect Orders (Dresden, September 2003). — Entomologische Abhandlungen 61: 150-151.

Smith, V.S. Lousy Lists (Book review of "The Chewing Lice: World Checklist and Biological Overview" by R. D. Price, R. A. Hellenthal, R. L. Palma, K. P. Johnson, D. H. Clayton). Systematic Biology 53 (4) 666-668.

Johnson, K.P., Yoshizawa, K., Smith, V.S. Multiple origins of parasitism in lice. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B. 271: 1771 - 1776.

2003

Johnson, K.P., Cruickshank, R.H., Adams, R.J., Smith, V.S., Page, R.D.M. Clayton, D.H. Dramatically elevated rate of mitochondrial substitution in lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 26:231-242.

Goldie, S. and Smith, V.S. Know your enemy! Student British Medical Journal. 11: 190.

Smith, V.S. Scratching a thirty-year itch!: a review of the Second International Congress on Phthiraptera. New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 30: 327-331.

Smith, V.S. Ex Cathedra Cladistics (Book review of "Cladistics: A Practical Primer on CD-ROM" by Peter Skelton, Andrew Smith, and Neale Monks). Heredity. 91: 96-97.

2001

Smith, V.S. Avian Louse Phylogeny (Phthiraptera: Ischnocera): A cladistic study based on morphology. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 132: 81-144.

Cruickshank R.H., Johnson K.P., Smith V.S., Adams R.J., Clayton D.H., and Page R.D.M. Phylogenetic Analysis of Partial Sequences of Elongation Factor 1 alpha Identifies Major Groups of Lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 19: 202-215.

2000

Smith, V.S. Basal ischnoceran louse phylogeny (Phthiraptera: Ischnocera: Goniodidae and Heptapsogasteridae). Systematic Entomology 25: 73-94.

Unpublished Theses:

Smith, V. S. (2000) Avian louse phylogeny (Phthiraptera: Ischnocera). A cladistic study based on morphology. Unpublished doctoral thesis. University of Glasgow

Smith, V. S. (1996) A Re-evaluation of Xantusiid Lizard Phylogeny: With Comments on its Wider Implications for Phylogenetic Analysis. Unpublished honours thesis, University of Bristol.

Electronic Resources:

BioCorder: a web-based biodiversity inventory tracking system
A project funded in March 2005 by the National Science Foundation and co-developed with David Reed (University of Florida) and Rod Page (University of Glasgow) to produce a web-based framework to archive, integrate and discover taxonomic data required by Tree-of-Life type research projects. The full project description and relevant links are available from the website written for the grant application.

SID: Specimen Image Database
Co-developed with Simon Rycroft (University of Glasgow), SID is a tool for the web-based management and archival of digital images used in phylogenetic and biodiversity research. Combining freeware image manipulation and databasing software this package allows users to establish taxon-focused collections of images that can be archived, annotated, searched or browsed on a web server. Uniquely SID relies on a taxonomic ontology independently served by the Glasgow Taxonomic Name Server. An example of an installation of SID devoted to images of parasitic lice is available at: http://darwin.zoology.gla.ac.uk/~sid/

LouseBASE: Louse Specimen Database
Co-developed with Rod Page, LouseBASE is a relational database for storing information on louse specimens and DNA sequences that form part of our research on louse phylogenetics at Glasgow University. The web interface allows researchers worldwide to collaborate on research projects based on specimen collections at the University of Glasgow. LouseBASE has also been used to manage louse specimen collections at the University of Utah and Illinois Natural History Survey. The Glasgow installation of LouseBASE can be found at: http://darwin.zoology.gla.ac.uk/~rpage/LouseBase/2/

Tree-of-Life, Louse Pages
Although somewhat out of date, these pages provide basic data on diversity, biology and systematics of parasitic lice infesting birds and mammals. These are consistently listed amongst the most popular sites on the Tree-of-Life website and can be found at: http://tolweb.org/tree?group=Phthiraptera&contgroup=Hemipteroid_Assemblage

Bibliographies, checklists and taxonomic name servers
I have an ongoing project to compile a complete bibliography on all aspects of phthirapteran literature. This database presently stands at 7,110 references and with the assistance of Robert Dalgleish (Research associate at San Diego NHM) 1,946 papers have been scanned and are available as full text PDF's from http://www.phthiraptera.org/. Eventually these will be dynamically served online with Rod Page's PHPBib under the auspices of BioCorder, and integrated with a complete checklist database of host-parasite associations for all Phthiraptera that I have compiled from published sources. Authenticating taxonomic names will be done with the aid of web-services issued from a centralised Taxonomic Name server. As a first step I have released the phthirapteran classification to the Glasgow Taxonomic Name server and, in part, to the US based Integrated Taxonomic Information System.

My Personal website
In addition to PDF's and datasets for all my publications, this site serves an array of electronic resources that I have developed or co-authored during my career. These include interactive guides to louse anatomy, image galleries, interactive keys and information on the diversity, biology and collection of parasitic lice. Although some of these resources are no longer being actively maintained, they remain a useful resource to professional researchers and members of the public, providing a focal point for my research program. My website can be found at: http://darwin.zoology.gla.ac.uk/~vsmith/.

Conference Presentations & Invited Seminars::

2005

V. S. Smith. What is Cybertaxonomy? some case studies from a louse systematist

Invited speaker. The Natural History Museum, London, UK. 16th September, 2005.

V. S. Smith & K. P. Johnson. The evolution of microhabitat specialization in parasitic lice: lineage assortment or character displacement?

Joint meetings of the American Society of Naturalists (ASN), the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE), and the Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB). June 10-14, 2005. University of Alaska, Fairbanks, USA.

V. S. Smith. Did dinosaurs have lice? estimating rates of diversification in parasitic lice

Invited speaker / instructor. Biostatistics workshop (Bayesian and likelihood inference of phylogeny) with John Huelsenbeck, Fred Ronquist, Dave Swofford, and Jeff Thorne. (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA, May 22-31, 2005)

2004

V. S. Smith. DNA Barcoding Debate

Invited. Debate chair and session organiser. PEET V Meeting. 21-25 Sept. 2004, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. USA.

V.S. Smith. SID: Specimen Image Database

Invited. Biological image database workshop. 10-11 Sept. 2004. Florida State University, Tallahassee,
USA.

V. S. Smith., T. Ford, K.P. Johnson, P. Johnson, R.D.M. Page. Did dinosaurs have lice?

Joint meetings of the American Society of Naturalists (ASN), the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE), and the Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB). 26-30 June 2004, Colorado State University, Colorado, USA.

K. Yoshizawa, K.P. Johnson, V.S. Smith. Multiple Origins of Parasitism in Lice

POSTER PRESENTATION. Joint meetings of the American Society of Naturalists (ASN), the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE), and the Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB). 26-30 June 2004, Colorado State University, Colorado, USA.

E.G. Grosso, G. Laufer, V.S. Smith. Piojos masticadores de pluma, ectoparásitos del ñandú (Rhea americana).

POSTER PRESENTATION. 6th International conference for the management of wildlife in Amazonia and Latin America. 5-10 September, The National University of Peruvian Amazonía (UNAP), Iquitos, Peru. CONFERENCE NOT PERSONALLY ATTENDED BY VSS.

2003

V. S. Smith. Lousy phylogenies: Phthiraptera systematics and the antiquity of lice

Invited speaker. The Phylogenetic Relationships within the Insect Orders. September 19-21, 2003. Dresden, Germany.

V. S. Smith. Ancient mariners and recent stowaways: the coevolution of seabirds and their lice

Joint meetings of the American Society of Naturalists (ASN), the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE), and the Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB). June 20-24, 2003. California State University, Chico. California, USA.

2002

V. S. Smith. Data Set Incongruence and the Problem of Avian Louse Phylogeny

Invited speaker. 2nd International Congress on Phthiraptera. July 8 - 12, 2002. University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.

V. S. Smith & R.D.M. Page. LouseBase: An Online Specimen and Data Management System for Working with Lice

2nd International Congress on Phthiraptera. July 8 - 12, 2002. University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.

V. S. Smith & K. P. Johnson. Lies I have told about lice: a fresh look at avian louse phylogeny

POSTER PRESENTATION. Joint meetings of the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE), and the Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB). 29 June - 2 July 2002, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. USA.

2001

V. S. Smith. Lousy Phylogenies: Louse Coevolution and Cosepciation

Invited speaker. Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Georgia, USA. 28th November, 2001.

2000

V. S. Smith. Ischnoceran Louse Phylogeny : Congruence, Consensus and Coevolution

Invited speaker. Royal Entomological Society, Medical and Veterinary Entomology Special Interest Group, 1st November 2000, Royal Entomological Society, London.

1999

V. S. Smith. Heirlooms or Souvenirs: Have lice cospeciated with their hosts?

Joint meetings of the American Society of Naturalists (ASN), the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE), and the Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB). 22-26 June 1999, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

V. S. Smith. Reconstructing character state trees: An example based on louse head shape

Second biennial conference of the Systematics Association. 23-27 August 1999, University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK. (Won £500 of book vouchers for best student paper at the conference).

Genetic analysis of lice supports direct contact between modern and archaic humans. PLoS Biology, 2004.
The findings of this paper were reported in the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, The Times (London), amongst many others worldwide. In addition, Nature News, Science Now, and New Scientist, along with BBC News covered the story. The paper was also reported in Science, featured on the front page of the US National Science Foundation website, and was the most downloaded paper from PLoS-Biology website for several weeks after its publication. Further details including selected radio interviews are available from this papers website.

Species Co-Extinctions and the Biodiversity Crisis. Science, 2004.
Within 3 days of publication this paper generated news stories in more than 70 international newspapers and media outlets including The Guardian (UK), ABC News (USA), and National Geographic. A compilation of these articles is available from this papers website.

Scratching an ancient itch: an Eocene bird louse fossil. Proc. R. Soc. B. Suppl. Biology Letters. 2004.
This paper was covered by BBC news online and in the BBC wildlife magazine. In the US and Canada it was featured in a short news article on the Discovery TV channel and in the June 2004 issue of the 'Discover' science magazine that accompanies US and Canadian subscriptions to this TV channel. Several European general science magazines also ran short pieces on the story. Further details on the papers website.

Reviewing activities:
Grant reviews for the National Science Foundation PEET, and Systematic Biology programs. I have also reviewed journal articles for many publications including: Bioinformatics, Journal of Biomedical Informatics, Journal of Medical Entomology, Journal of Parasitology, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, Systematic Biology, Systematic Entomology and Zoologica Scripta. Also selected book chapters from Molecular Evolution: a phylogenetic approach (R.D.M. Page & E.C. Holmes) and Tangled Trees: phylogeny, cospeciation & coevolution (ed. R.D.M. Page).

Specimen Identification:
Zoological Gardens, veterinarians and members of the medical profession periodically contact me for assistance in the identification of parasitic lice. With the aid of the electronic resources I have generated I am usually able to meet these requests very quickly. This is a valuable source of specimens from rare or unusual hosts for my genetic resources collection.

Public contact:
My website and the Tree-Of-Life, louse pages form the public face of my research. These resources are usually sufficient to address most non-technical questions on human and non-human parasitic lice. However, I occasionally receive direct contact from individuals and organisations requesting assistance.

Instructor:
Biostatistics workshop (Bayesian and likelihood inference of phylogeny) with John Huelsenbeck, Fred Ronquist, Dave Swofford, and Jeff Thorne. (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA, May 22-31, 2005); Phylogenetics workshop with Rod Page and Dave Swofford (University of Glasgow, UK, Sept. 1-12, 1999); undergraduate biology demonstrator (Univ. of Glasgow, UK, 1997- 1999).

Project Supervision:
Seven undergraduate (BSc) honours projects concerning systematics, online databasing and the comparative method, in addition to two masters (MSc) computer science project co-supervised with Rod Page (University of Glasgow, UK, 1998-2004).

Tutor:
Undergraduate biology, (University of Glasgow, UK, 2001-2004).

Fundraising committee chair
Third International Congress on Phthiraptera - ICP3, (Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sept. 2006).

Symposium organiser and debate chair
DNA Barcoding symposium, Part of the PEET V meeting (University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, USA, Sept. 2004)

Executive, scientific and fundraising committees
Second International Congress on Phthiraptera - ICP2, (University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, July, 2001).

Biological Image Database Workshop
Tallahassee, USA, 10-11 Sept. 2004. Hosted by Florida State University and organised by Fredrik Ronquist for invited researchers working on the development on image databases.

Taxonomic Concept Standards
Edinburgh, Scotland, May 12^th, 2004. Hosted by the e-Science Institute and organised by Prof. Jessie Kennedy on behalf of researchers working on the US funded SEEK project (Scientific Environment for Ecological Knowledge) and interested European researchers.

Ultimate Course on Cladistics
Helsinki, Finland, September 18th-21st 1999. Arranged by the CRTSB and hosted by Finnish Museum of Natural History and Universities of Helsinki and Turku (lectures and workshops by Steve Farris, Arnold Kluge, Mari Kœllersjö, Diana Lipscomb, Kevin Nixon, Mark Siddall, John Wenzel and Ward Wheeler).

Phylogenies and their Uses
Glasgow, Scotland, September 1st-12th 1997. Sponsored by the Systematics Association and hosted by the University of Glasgow (lectures and workshops by Rod Page, Dave Swofford, Mike Charleston, Andy Purvis and Ken Johnson).

Comparative Methods Workshop
Silwood Park, England, April 21st-22nd 1997. Hosted by Imperial College, Silwood Park, England. Organised and run by Andy Purvis.