Dr. Beth Smith

Beth A. Smith, PT, DPT, PhD, leads the Infant Neuromotor Control Laboratory at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Her research foci are a) to use basic science questions to explain relations between early brain development, infants’ movement behavior, and neurodevelopmental outcomes and b) to build on her basic science results to develop evidence-based interventions that optimize neurodevelopmental outcomes. She uses technology in novel and complementary ways to capture and assess complex infant behaviors.

Dr. Smith is a principal investigator on a ground-breaking study called the HEALthy Brain and Child Development Study (HBCD). Children’s Hospital Los Angeles was recently awarded a prestigious $6.8 million grant to lead this 25-site nationwide group following thousands of children. The study aims to create a comprehensive picture of healthy brain development.

Dr. Smith has used The MotionMonitor since 2014 to capture and analyze an infant’s movement synchronously with their brain activity using electroencephalography (EEG) and reference video. The group captures data both in a lab setting and in a home setting, using portable systems outfitted with electromagnetic and inertial sensors to capture motion data in the different environments.

Dr. Smith says, “Being able to collect multiple streams of synchronized data in the lab or in the home and being able to include different types of data in different studies are key features of The MotionMonitor for us. In addition, their customer support is excellent!”

You can learn about the INCLab on their website here: https://sites.usc.edu/inclab/.
Dr. Smith joined CHLA in 2021, you can learn more about her research here:
https://www.chla.org/blog/research-blog/new-faculty-spotlight-beth-smith-phd-dpt-pt