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Dr. Smythe was born in Temple, Texas. He attended Baylor University. He received his M.D. degree from Texas A&M University in 1989 where he graduated with highest honors and received the Helen Salyer Anderson Medal for Academic Achievement. He completed a General Surgery residency and a two-year postdoctoral research fellowship in thoracic oncology and molecular biology at the University of Pennsylvania during the period of 1989-1996 where he initiated the laboratory effort that led to the first clinical gene therapy trial for mesothelioma. While a General Surgical Resident, he received the William Inouye Award for Surgical Teaching and the Jonathan Rhoads Award for Surgical Research. He remained at the University of Pennsylvania during the period of 1996-1998 for a Cardiothoracic Surgery residency with an emphasis on general thoracic surgery. Dr. Smythe joined the faculty at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery as an Assistant Surgeon and Assistant Professor of Surgery in 1998. In addition to a clinical practice with a particular interest in mesothelioma, Dr. Smythe leads a laboratory effort examining the molecular pathogenesis and potential gene therapy approaches to the treatment of mesothelioma and other thoracic malignancies.
Dr. Smythe is a Diplomate of the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, and is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, The American Association for Cancer Research, The American Society for Gene Therapy, The Association for Academic Surgery and the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association.