Before joining Weill Cornell Medicine, Dr. Smerd worked as a primary care doctor at the Manhattan Veterans Affairs Hospital and Odyssey House in Spanish Harlem. She was named chief resident after completing her residency at New York University and studied medicine at the Sackler School of Medicine in Tel Aviv, Israel. She has also lived in Kathmandu, researching Vitamin A deficiency in Nepal. She earned her bachelor's degree from Vassar College, majoring in women's studies with a focus on anthropology. Rachel has been the director of LEAP since Fall 2024, combining her passions for the humanities and clinical medicine. Originally from Pittsburgh, she now lives in Brooklyn with her husband and three children.