Clinical Research Manager

“A Different Eye for Research”

 

Daekiara Smith-Ireland grew up in Pasadena, Maryland, with her mom and two younger brothers. She was an active child in both sports and academics. She moved to Atlanta in her teen years and then attended college at Clark Atlanta University to earn a B.S. in Biology. A profound passion for science, research and health care accelerated her career growth. Many of her undergraduate courses focused on research, and she connected with encouraging professors, particularly in her early work in a microbiology research lab. She had to do some soul searching to determine where her passion for research would lead her—whether along the traditionally esteemed path of becoming a medical doctor or the equally respected journey of becoming a scientist. All paths had merits and benefits, but what would be the right fit for her?

Eventually, she found the right dovetail of interests by working within public health and research. She has worked for several celebrated and respected institutions in a variety of roles, from a Medical Scribe at Northwest Georgia Oncology to a Research Coordinator at Emory University, and now in her current role as Clinical Research Manager at Life University (Life U). Smith-Ireland received her Master of Public Health from Mercer University in 2022 and recently completed her Doctor of Public Health in Social Epidemiology from Mercer in May 2025. Her Ph.D. research has focused on sleep, mental health, COPD, “disease burden and how the environment and policies affect all those things, especially in underserved populations.” Regarding her time at Life U, she has served with the Center for Chiropractic Research (CCR) for a year now and has enjoyed approaching research in a more personal and holistic way.

“With the opportunity to work directly with the community, in a sense, I see participants a lot while also still being able to do research. I thought that was awesome, and that is kind of what drew me to Life U, integrating both that holistic wellness aspect and that community aspect of being able to still be face-to-face with participants and the people that are experiencing these problems. And I thought that it just aligned with my values and my morals and my interests,” Smith-Ireland said.

Having worked extensively in more traditional medical research environments, Smith-Ireland has found Life U to be a refreshing change of pace with its “holistic health overview”, in the sense of looking at study participants as whole people and attempting to care for the whole person rather than simply as part of a scientific study.

“This is where we look at a whole, holistic view of what could be affecting one of our participants. I enjoy that our studies are so vast. What exactly are we looking at because we’re looking at things from a different lens instead of just that medical-based lens and grouping everyone together under that microscope versus looking at things differently,” Smith-Ireland said.

Most of the projects that Smith-Ireland and the CCR team are looking at center around some main groups of study, including brain-body studies, the art of the chiropractic adjustment and a research link team, which is finding ways to disseminate and share research with the academic community and beyond. There is an obesity study that is looking at whether chiropractic can affect that condition or the overall health of obese individuals. There is also a chiropractic sham study going on, in which it is being evaluated whether participants can tell if they are receiving a true chiropractic adjustment or a placebo, sham adjustment. There are other studies in different stages of development, but these two make up her current highlight reel.

Overall, Smith-Ireland is brimming with enthusiasm over where her research career can take her next in her time at Life U, what scientific breakthroughs can be made or contributed to, and the amazing people that she can get to know.

“I just can’t wait to see where we continue to go in the future.”