Crystal Smith-Spangler is a practicing internist, Instructor (Research) in the Division of General Medical Disciplines in the Stanford School of Medicine, and Stanford Health Policy Affiliate. She is interested in helping patients, providers, and policy makers make informed decisions on treatment and policy options for common, costly health conditions. She uses decision analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, meta-analysis, and observational data to understand ways to improve these decisions, focusing on cardiovascular disease and obesity. In previous work, she has examined the impact of pedometer use on weight loss and other outcomes, the strategies to reduce population sodium intake, and the financial impact of diabetes on individuals in the developing world.

As a research fellow at Stanford, Smith-Spangler was recognized with the 2010 Junior Investigator Award by Annals of Internal Medicine for her article, “Population Strategies to Decrease Sodium Intake and the Burden of Cardiovascular Disease: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.”

Smith-Spangler graduated from Duke University with a BS in Biology and minor in Health Policy, served as a Peace Corps Volunteer (Mauritania, West Africa) in health/water sanitation, and received her medical degree from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She completed her residency training in Internal Medicine at Stanford in 2008 and a Masters of Science in Health Services Research at Stanford in 2010.