Aaron Smith graduated as a dual student athlete with his B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Maryland Baltimore County in 2006.  After graduation he worked as technical director for Chemspec, Inc. in Baltimore Maryland, before joining the graduate program in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Maryland Baltimore where he obtained his Ph.D.  Before arriving at George Mason University, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the Duke University Medical School.  His research interests center around microbial pathogens and host-pathogen interactions, and specifically, how transition metals influence the pathogenesis of microorganisms.