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Jan 9, 2025, 09:53

Remembering Kendric Smith, A Pioneer in Radiation Oncology and Photobiology

Kendric Smith, PhD, a radiation oncologist and emeritus professor of radiation oncology at Stanford Medicine, passed away at the age of 98 on November 1 in Los Gatos, California.

Kendric Smith

Dr. Smith made significant contributions to the fields of DNA repair and photobiology over his long and distinguished career.

He joined Stanford in 1956 and was widely recognized for his research on how radiation affects living organisms, particularly his work on DNA damage and repair mechanisms.

Throughout his career, Dr. Smith authored hundreds of research papers and books, including key texts on photobiology, a field exploring the interaction of light with living organisms. In 1972, he founded the American Society of Photobiology and served as its first president.

His work laid the foundation for much of the modern understanding of cancer biology and radiotherapy.

Dr. Smith’s early career at Stanford began under the mentorship of Henry Kaplan, MD, where he contributed to groundbreaking work on DNA fractionation, a discovery that contributed to later Nobel-winning research on transfer RNAs. In the 1960s, Dr. Smith expanded his focus to study how various forms of radiation, including UV and X-rays, affect DNA.

His discoveries regarding DNA-protein linkages from UV radiation significantly advanced the understanding of DNA repair processes.

In addition to his scientific pursuits, Dr. Smith became an early adopter of computer programming in the 1970s. He developed Grant Tracker, a program that helped researchers manage research funding, and continued to improve it over the years before making it freely available online in 2000.

Even after retiring from Stanford in 1993, Dr. Smith remained active in the scientific community, creating websites for various organizations. Outside of his professional life, he became passionate about birdwatching and the study of monarch butterflies, often drawing parallels between his hobbies and his scientific curiosity.

Born in Illinois, Dr. Smith completed his undergraduate studies at Berea College and Stanford University before earning a PhD in biochemistry from UC Berkeley.

Throughout his career, he was known for his inquisitiveness and dedication to research, often advising young scientists to follow their passions rather than pursue financial gain.

Dr. Smith is survived by his daughters, Nancy and Martha, and five grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Marion, with whom he shared 62 years of marriage.