John Smith, a Professor in the College of Education and Human Performance, earned a Ph.D. in 2004 in Exercise Physiology from Texas Womans University after completing his dissertation entitled "Assessment of Physical Activity Levels in 3rd and 4th Grade Children Using Pedometers during Physical Education Class." He also earned a B.S. at the University of the Texas at San Antonio (1992) and an M.S. at Texas A&M University-Kingsville (1995).

Before joining the faculty at Texas A&M University-San Antonio in January of 2008, Dr. Smith was an assistant professor at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville for three-and-a-half years and a visiting assistant professor at Texas A&M-Kingsville for two years. Dr. Smith is also a Texas certified physical education teacher and taught at the elementary level while completing his dissertation.

Dr. Smiths research interests include the accuracy and use of activity monitors in assessing physical activity levels and assessment of physical fitness, especially in the limb-loss population. He has also had the opportunity to be involved in community outreach projects that involve training first-time triathletes as well as teaching in weight management clinics. He is currently a member of the ACSM as well as other several state-level organizations. Dr. Smith is also ACSM Certified-Exercise Physiologist.

Selected Publications:

Guerra, G., Smith, J. D., & Yoon, E. J. (2023). The relationship between balance confidence and center of pressure in lower-limb prosthesis users. Biomechanics, 3(4), 561-570.

Smith, J. D., Guerra, G., Symons, T. B., Kwon, E. H., & Yoon, E. J. (2023). Comparison of body composition methods for estimating body fat percentage in lower limb prosthesis users. Canadian Prosthetics & Orthotics Journal, 6(1), 1-7.

Smith, J. D. & Guerra, G. (2021). Quantifying step count and oxygen consumption with portable technology during the 2-Min Walk Test in people with lower limb amputation. Sensors, 21(6), 2080.

Le, H., Guerra, G., Sasaki, K., Phongphibool, S., Smith, J. D., Wongpanya, J., Rakbanboong, & T., Siriwatsopon, J. (2020). Oxygen consumption and speed performance of a runner with amputation wearing an elevated vacuum running prosthesis. Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics. DOI: 10.1097/JPO.0000000000000317

Smith, J. D., Guerra, G., & Burkholder, B. G. (2019). The validity and accuracy of wrist-worn activity monitors in lower-limb prosthesis users. Disability and Rehabilitation, DOI: 10.1080/09638288.2019.1587792

Guerra, G., Smith, J. D., Gomez, P., & Siriwatsopon, J. (2019). The accuracy of variously positioned pedometers for lower limb prosthesis users. Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics. DOI: 10.1097/JPO.0000000000000264

Smith, J. D., Schroeder, C, & Smith, R. M. (2019). Pedometer accuracy and metabolic cost in elementary school children while walking, skipping, galloping, and sliding. The Physical Educator, 76(1), 1-23.

A&M San Antonio Courses Taught