Dr. Joshua D. Smith is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System. Dr. Smith completed a fellowship in Advanced Head and Neck Oncologic and Microvascular Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. His clinical interests include complex head and neck oncologic surgery and microvascular reconstructive surgery for benign and malignant tumors of the head and neck. He is passionate about translational head and neck cancer research and actively studies mechanisms of tumor immune evasion and translational biomarkers of response to novel immunotherapies in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. He has received several competitive research grants from the NIH, the American Head & Neck Society, and the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery and has published over 60 peer-reviewed articles.
- Board Certification: American Board of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery
- Clinical Fellowship, Advanced Head and Neck Oncologic and Microvascular Reconstructive Surgery: University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
- NIH-funded T32 Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship: University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
- Residency, Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery: University of Michigan
- MD, University of Michigan Medical School
- NIH-funded T32 Pre-Doctoral Research Fellowship: University of Michigan Medical School
Education & Training
Genomic Signatures of Poor Prognosis in Merkel Cell Carcinoma: A Single-Institution Prospective Study. Smith JD, Bhangale AD, Gu W, Brummel C, Gensterblum-Miller E, McLean S, Harms PW, Harms KL, Bichakjian CK, Spector ME, Mills RE, Brenner JC. Mol Cancer Res. 2025 Jul 21. doi: 10.1158/1541-7786.MCR-24-1138. Online ahead of print. PMID: 40689859
Tumor Hypoxia and CD8+ T-Cell Infiltration in Patients With Advanced Laryngeal Cancer. Smith JD, Gensterblum-Miller E, Forner DWA, Yalamanchi P, Buchakjian MR, Chinn SB, Shuman AG, Casper KA, Malloy KM, Stucken CL, Mclean SA, Mierzwa ML, Shah J, Swiecicki PL, Worden FP, Prince MEP, Spector ME, Brenner JC, Heft Neal ME. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2025 May 5. doi: 10.1002/ohn.1291. Online ahead of print. PMID: 40323140
Modern Applications of the Pedicled Latissimus Dorsi Flap for Complex Head and Neck Reconstruction. Smith JD, Smith B, Rosko AJ, Sridharan S, Contrera KJ, Heft-Neal ME, Spector ME. Oral Oncol. 2024 Dec;159:107059. Doi: 10.1016/j.oraloncology.2024.107059. PMID: 39384438.
Endoscope-Assisted Transcervical Resection of Parapharyngeal Space Tumors. Smith JD, Chinn SB, Sridharan S, Contrera KJ, Heft-Neal ME, Spector ME. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2025 Jan;172(1):162-166. Doi: 10.1002/ohn.967. PMID: 39353143.
Mutant HRas Signaling and Rationale for Use of Farnesyltransferase Inhibitors in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Wang J, Al-Majid D, Brenner JC, Smith JD. Target Oncol. 2023 Sep;18(5):643-655. Doi: 10.1007/s11523-023-00993-3. PMID: 37665491.
As a surgeon-scientist, Dr. Smith is driven by the belief that tangible improvement in survival and quality-of-life for patients is dependent on advancing our understanding of tumor-immune biology and mechanisms of treatment resistance in the laboratory. Towards this aim, he has dedicated his efforts to two primary goals: 1) unraveling cellular mechanisms of immune evasion within the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME); and 2) validation of biomarkers of “immune cold” tumor phenotypes and poor patient outcomes. He envisions the translational impact of his research to be 1) informing selection of optimal patient(s) and setting(s) for anti-PD-1 therapy; and 2) nominating novel combination immunotherapies for early-phase clinical trial evaluation.
2025 – 2026 - University of Pittsburgh Head & Neck SPORE Career Enhancement Project Award, “Surgical Drain Fluid as a Liquid Measure of the Tumor Environment in Head and Neck Cancer”
2022 – 2023 - AHNS Presidential Award: Understanding Treatment Resistance in Head and Neck Cancer; “Exosomes Mediate Resistance to PD-1/PD-L1 Inhibition in Head and Neck Cancer”
2021 – 2022 - Centralized Otolaryngology Research Efforts (CORE) Grant Award; “FGF Signaling Promotes PD-L1 Expression in Head & Neck Cancer”
2017 – 2018 - NIH, T32 Grant, Advanced Research Training in Otolaryngology Program (ARTOP) Fellow T32 DC5356-15; “Pathogenetic Mechanisms of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma”
2015 – 2016 - NIH, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute-SBRP Grant; “Analysis of HPV Integration into Cancer Related Genes in Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OPSC)”
2014 – 2015 - NIH, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute-SBRP Grant; “Characterization of a Mutant B12 Processing Enzyme Associated with Early-Onset Methylmalonic Aciduria and Homocystinuria”