Arianna Smith

I joined the Biology Department at Davidson College in 2024 and teach introductory biology and immunology.  My research interests lie at the intersection of reproductive biology and immunology. Prenatal stress is associated with development of asthma in children. I am interested in understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying this association. The placenta, an ephemeral organ of pregnancy, responds to and protects the fetus from the excess stress hormone that may arise during times of maternal prenatal stress. Thus, I am interested in maternal stress hormone-induced changes in placental gene expression and function, and how these placental-derived signals alter immune and lung development in the offspring.