Susan S. Smyth (1965–2022)

Abstract

PhD, who passed away on December 31, 2022 at the age of 57 years. Susan most recently served as Executive Vice Chancellor and Dean of the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). Susan was a renowned cardiologist, clinical scientist, and academic leader. She leaves behind her husband, Andrew Morris, PhD, professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at UAMS, their two sons Edward and William, along with many colleagues and trainees who are still coming to terms with this tragic loss.Susan grew up in Chapel Hill, NC, the daughter of University of North Carolina (UNC) philosophy professor Richard Smyth and Luan Smyth, in a 150-year-old homestead in the beautiful countryside of Chapel Hill. She attended Mount Holyoke College where she graduated summa cum laude in 1987. Later that year, she joined the MD/PhD program at UNC. This was before the university had the robust, well-funded program that would evolve a few years later. At that time, Susan had to apply separately to medical and graduate school, be accepted by both, and coordinate between the two entities, an experience that would help shape her later passion to facilitate and enhance MD/PhD training.In 1990, Susan joined the laboratory of a new Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology, Leslie Parise, PhD, as one of her first two graduate students. For