Academic Office:
LSUHSC School of Medicine
533 Bolivar Street, Room 311
New Orleans, LA 70112
Room 7249
Cell: 214-377-3170
Office: 504-568-3395
Bio
After her veterinary training, Simon completed her PhD training in Endocrine Physiology with a National Fellowship from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, India. Simon completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign in endocrine and stem cell biology. She was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Tuskegee University, Alabama (2010-2013). She also held an adjunct faculty position, Department of Pathology, School of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She joined the Department of Physiology in LSUHSC in 2013 and is currently an Associate Professor.
Education
BVSc - Bachelor of Veterinary Sciences 1997, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Kerala, India
MVSc - Master of Veterinary Sciences (Endocrine physiology) 1999, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Kerala, India
Ph.D. – Endocrine Physiology 2005, Tamilnadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, India
Postdoctoral Fellowship - Endocrine/Stem Cell Biology 2010, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
Clinical Interests
Dr. Simon is a member of the translational LSU Health New Orleans NIAAA-funded P60 Comprehensive Alcohol-HIV/AIDS Research Center of the project Alcohol and Metabolic Dysregulation among PLWH: Mechanisms underlying Metabolic Comorbidities. She is lead PI of a clinical study on how alcohol impacts skeletal muscle mitochondrial integrity that increases the risk of frailty in older adults.
Teaching
- Endocrine Physiology
- Dental Program
- Interdisciplinary Graduate Program
- Physical Therapy & Physician Assistant Programs
- Cell Biology
- Interdisciplinary Graduate Program
Research
Research in our laboratory focuses on studying epigenomic interactions that impair cell function contributing to dysregulated regeneration and metabolic function. We are specifically interested in the dysregulation of mitochondrial bioenergetics and stem cell function that alters the fate of cells in insults including alcohol use, aging, and HIV. Our laboratory utilizes clinical studies, preclinical models, in vivo approaches, including models of alcohol administration; cell culture systems; and a wide array of molecular biology techniques. The lab has also developed close collaborations within the department and at LSUHSC to investigate mechanisms of metabolic dysregulation mediated by alcohol and HIV disease, and skeletal muscle effects in cerebral palsy.
Committees
National
- Awards committee Chair, Endocrine and Metabolism Section, American Physiological Society, 2024-
Institution
- Faculty Assembly, 2021-
- Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, 2021-
- IDP Mentoring Committee, 2018-
- MD/PhD Admission Committee, 2024-
- Committee on Women’s Affairs 2025-
- Association of Women in Science (2014-Present). President of the AWIS LSUHSC Chapter (2024-)
Departmental
- Faculty Search Committee, 2018-