He has also worked as a biomedical engineer. He graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland in 1980. After working two years as a biomedical engineer he was admitted to medical school where he earned a doctorate of medicine at the University of Maryland in 1986. He completed his neurosurgery training at SUNY Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, New York in 1993. He is also fellowship trained in pituitary surgery and epilepsy surgery. Dr. Smith worked as an assistant professor of neurological surgery at SUNY Health Sciences Center in Syracuse, New York from 1994 to 1999 specializing in epilepsy and skull base surgery. In 1999 he started a private practice neurosurgery group in Utica, New York. Dr. Smith has received numerous awards and grants and is published in the fields of neuroanatomy, neurophysiology and neurosurgery.