From Vision to Impact

Richard and Susan Smith walked into a room full of computers and asked, “Where’s the lab?” 

At an event on June 2 celebrating the first 10 years of the Richard A. and Susan F. Smith Center for Outcomes Research, their daughter and BIDMC Trustee Debra Smith Knez fondly recalled the moment when her parents saw the transformational possibility of investing in the right leaders at the right time. “Their enthusiasm was just incredible. It was the beginning of the data and outcomes revolution. There was so much data, but most people didn’t know what to do with it,” says Knez, who was joined at the event by her brother Rob Smith and other members of the Smith family. 

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In that moment, Richard and Susan Smith grasped what few others did: someone needed to create a new kind of place—a new kind of team—to combine mountains of data with innovative ideas to create better care. Their visionary gift to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center establishing the Smith Center did exactly that by building a new model for outcomes research. “My parents grasped what could be achieved—that the research in this center was going to impact the lives of patients, not just here, but everywhere,” says Knez. 

The Smiths placed their confidence in a promising idea and in the leaders who could bring it to life—Peter Zimetbaum, MD, Associate Chief and Director of Clinical Cardiology and Richard A. and Susan F. Smith Professor of Medicine, and Robert Yeh, MD, MSc, MBA, Director of the Smith Center and Katz Silver Family Professor of Medicine. “Peter and Bobby had a clear vision of what they wanted to happen in that space with all those computers,” says Knez, referring to Zimetbaum and Yeh. 

What began as a focus on cardiovascular outcomes research has grown into a national model for how philanthropy, data, and collaboration can transform clinical research across disciplines. Donor generosity beyond the Smiths’ founding gift has made it possible to recruit top talent and pursue bold ideas with life-changing potential. “The Smith Center would not exist and cannot continue to thrive without philanthropic partnerships,” says Zimetbaum. 

In just 10 years, the Smith Center has grown from a handful of faculty into a 67-person team whose work shapes clinical practice, health policy, drug affordability, medical device safety, and population health nationwide. Its research published in leading journals has shaped clinical guidelines. Collaborations with the FDA are improving how medical devices are evaluated after they reach patients, and groundbreaking work on drug pricing is expanding access—helping up to 13 million Medicare beneficiaries obtain critical new cardiovascular medications for as little as $50 a month. 

At the heart of this success is a strong and growing community of experts at the Smith Center. “It was never going to be about what any one person could accomplish,” says Yeh, the center’s founding director. “It was about what we could do collectively if we brought together the right people.” 

That philosophy remains the Smith Center’s defining strength. The center’s ability to unite exceptional talent and achieve impact at scale stands as a powerful example of partnership between BIDMC and a family deeply committed to advancing health care. 

Its trajectory reflects the broader rise of BIDMC as a destination for innovation, discovery, and clinical excellence.  

“The Smith Center is an example of how philanthropy can be powerful in launching something—solving problems and making a huge difference for patients,” says Knez. “I would never have imagined 10 years ago that the Smith Center would have the scope it has and, most importantly, the impact it has already achieved. The possibilities are limitless.” 

For those who believed in the vision from the beginning, the results have been remarkable. For those helping shape its future, the most exciting chapters may still lie ahead. 

To learn more or to support the Smith Center’s next decade, please contact Noreen Mitchell, Vice President of Philanthropy.