Dr. Smith holds a Ph.D. in Immunology and Infectious Diseases, a Master's in Public Health from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, and a Bachelor's of Science in Microbiology from Texas Tech University. Her doctoral work focused on polymicrobial Interactions and biofilm-associated chronic Infections. She is a certified technologist in microbiology for clinical diagnostics (M(ASCP)CM) and has experience working in a hospital laboratory setting. Prior to joining the faculty at Texas Tech, she worked at RTLGenomics in Lubbock, Texas, a biotechnology company focused on next-generation sequencing for molecular characterization of microorganisms. Her research includes a sponsored research project to validate a handheld bacterial fluorescence imaging device for clinical use, and examining the effects of polymicrobial infections on the efficacy of antimicrobial therapy. Dr. Smith teaches Honors College courses on microbiology, public health and epidemiology. She is also a Transformative Undergraduate Experiences (TrUE) Scholars Undergraduate Research Program Faculty Fellow.

Dr. Bono's research focuses on evolution in a changing environment.Understanding the fantastic biodiversity that is seen in the world requires both an understanding of the mechanisms generating such diversity and the selective forces that favor it. Although the interplay between ecology and evolution was historically separated by time scales, the complex dynamics between these forces have recently become better recognized; arguably nowhere more so than in viruses. Dr. Bono's research program focuses on these issues using viruses as both a model system to study general questions in biology but also the ecology and evolution of viruses themselves. Much of her research utilizes an experimental evolution approach with bacteria-infecting viruses (bacteriophages or simply phages), such as the Pseudomonas syringae phage phi6, but also includes influenza and environmental isolated phage.