Mark S. Smeltzer Institution Verified

Sourced from institutional research profiles (UAMS TRI or ARA).

◆ ARA Academy Federal Grant PI High Impact

Infectious Disease Research - UAMS Center for Microbial Pathogenesis and Host Inflammatory Responses

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

faculty

Microbiology & Immunology, College of Medicine

54 h-index 161 pubs 10,880 cited

Research Areas

Microbial infections and disease research Bone health and treatments Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria Immune Response and Inflammation Bacterial Genetics and Biotechnology Cancer-related molecular mechanisms research Protein Structure and Dynamics

Links

ORCID Lab Website Research Group UAMS TRI Profile

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OverviewAI-generated summary

Mark S. Smeltzer's research at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences focuses on infectious diseases, particularly the pathogenesis of *Staphylococcus aureus*. His work investigates how bacterial factors influence virulence and host response, with a specific interest in osteomyelitis, a bone infection.

His publications detail the role of bacterial proteases, such as aureolysin and staphopain A, in determining *Staphylococcus aureus* virulence. Smeltzer has also explored the mechanisms of pyroptosis, a form of programmed cell death, and its relation to cancer therapies. His research has examined strategies for combating localized infections, including the evaluation of bone filler scaffolds for local antibiotic delivery to prevent *Staphylococcus aureus* infection in contaminated bone defects.

Smeltzer is a highly cited researcher with an h-index of 54 and over 10,880 citations across 161 publications. He has served as a principal investigator on federal grants and leads an active research group. His collaborations include extensive work with Karen E. Beenken and Mara J. Campbell at UAMS.

Metrics

h-index: 54
Publications: 161
Citations: 10,880

Selected Publications

Lipolysis of host triacylglyceride-rich lipoproteins creates a toxic microenvironment for Staphylococcus aureus (2026) DOI
Staphylococcus aureus Biofilm-Associated Infections: Have We Found a Clinically Relevant Target? (2025) DOI
Staphylococcus aureus Proteins Implicated in the Reduced Virulence of sarA and sarA/agr Mutants in Osteomyelitis (2025) DOI
The ability of sarA to limit protease production plays a key role in the pathogenesis of Staphylococcus aureus osteomyelitis irrespective of the functional status of agr (2024) DOI
RANKL-mediated osteoclast formation is required for bone loss in a murine model of Staphylococcus aureus osteomyelitis (2024) DOI
Increased production of aureolysin and staphopain A is a primary determinant of the reduced virulence of Staphylococcus aureus sarA mutants in osteomyelitis (2024) DOI
Comparative evaluation of small molecules reported to be inhibitors of Staphylococcus aureus biofilm formation (2023) DOI
The major role of sarA in limiting Staphylococcus aureus extracellular protease production is correlated with decreased virulence in diverse clinical isolates in osteomyelitis (2022) DOI
Pyroptosis and pyroptosis-inducing cancer drugs (2022) DOI
Is amplification bias consequential in transposon sequencing (TnSeq) assays? A case study with a Staphylococcus aureus TnSeq library subjected to PCR-based and amplification-free enrichment methods (2021) DOI
Evaluation of a bone filler scaffold for local antibiotic delivery to prevent Staphylococcus aureus infection in a contaminated bone defect (2021) DOI
4-4-(Anilinomethyl)-3-[4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]-1H-pyrazol-1-ylbenzoic acid derivatives as potent anti-gram-positive bacterial agents (2021) DOI
Limiting protease production plays a key role in the pathogenesis of the divergent clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus LAC and UAMS-1 (2021) DOI
Evaluation of bone and kidney toxicity of BT2-peg2, a potential carrier for the targeted delivery of antibiotics to bone (2021) DOI
The Increased Accumulation of Staphylococcus aureus Virulence Factors Is Maximized in a purR Mutant by the Increased Production of SarA and Decreased Production of Extracellular Proteases (2021) DOI

ARA Academy 2017 ARA Fellow

Dr. Smeltzer dedicates his research to combating Staphylococcus aureus, a bacterial pathogen responsible for approximately 20,000 American deaths annually. He focuses on bone infections and those involving indwelling orthopaedic devices. He also serves as Program Director of a COBRE promoting infectious disease research capacity at UAMS and central Arkansas.

Policy Impact

Leads a COBRE center promoting infectious disease research capacity in central Arkansas, generating NIH institutional funding and training biomedical researchers.

Growth Areas

['Population Health Innovations & Clinical Research']

Resources

Executive Summary PDF Discovery Economics Article Project Scope Video ARA Academy Profile

Research Interests

Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcal infection, Osteomyelitis, Biofilm, Regulation

Grants & Funding

sarA as a Target for the Treatment and Prevention of Staphylococcal Biofilm-Associated Infection US Department of the Army Principal Investigator
sar-mediated regulation in Staphylococcus aureus NIH Principal Investigator
Capsule regulatory network in S. aureus pathogenesis NIH Co-Investigator
Center for Microbial Pathogenesis and Host Inflammatory Responses NIH Principal Investigator
Biofilm Dissemination in Staphylococcus aureus NIH/Nat. Inst. of Allergy & Infectious Diseases - Pass Through: University of Southern Mississippi Principal Investigator
Center for Microbial Pathogenesis and Host Inflammatory Responses NIH/Nat. Inst. of General Medical Sciences Principal Investigator
Investigating a Flexible, Degradable Local Antimicrobial Delivery System - Continuation - Continuation DHHS - Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority - Pass Through: University of Memphis Principal Investigator
Chitosan films for prevention of wound infections US Department of the Army Principal Investigator