Dr. Laura Smith, PhD
Dr. Laura Smith is a clinical neuropsychologist specializing in assessment and rehabilitation after stroke and traumatic brain injury. She leads an interdisciplinary lab that studies how attention, language, and motivation shape recovery. Her evaluations integrate neuroimaging findings with performance-based tests, offering rehabilitation teams clear, practical roadmaps for therapy.
Her path began in a rehabilitation hospital where she co-developed a brief screening battery for fatigue that became standard in several inpatient units. She champions goal setting that is specific, measurable, and meaningful to the person, whether that goal is returning to driving, cooking independently, or reading to grandchildren. She trains residents to write feedback letters that patients can actually reference at home.
Dr. Smith’s current projects include a randomized trial of cueing techniques to improve initiation in apathy, and a community partnership that brings cognitive rehab groups to local libraries. She is committed to access, which means sliding-scale services, interpreter availability, and collaboration with occupational and speech therapists who know the family’s priorities.
In the classroom, she teaches neuroanatomy for clinicians and supervises advanced assessment practica. Her supervision style blends structure with curiosity, inviting trainees to slow down, notice patterns, and consider the person beyond the test scores. Away from the lab, she tends a small rooftop garden and experiments with sourdough schedules that fit around patient rounds.
