Melissa Simon

Melissa Andrea Simon is an American clinical obstetrician/gynecologist and scientist whose research, teaching, clinical care and advocacy focus on health equity across the lifespan.[1][2] Simon is founder and director of the Center for Health Equity Transformation (CHET) in the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois,[3] and founder of the Chicago Cancer Health Equity Collaborative, a National Cancer Institute comprehensive cancer partnership led by the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Northeastern Illinois University, and the University of Illinois at Chicago.[4][1] Simon holds the positions of the George H. Gardner, MD professor of clinical gynecology.,[5] the vice-chair of clinical research in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, professor of preventive medicine and medical social sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and is a member of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center.[1]

Education

Simon earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago in 1994, a master's in public health from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1996, and a medical degree at Rush Medical College in 2000. She completed a residency (including a chief administrative year) at Yale University New Haven Hospital, followed by a fellowship in family planning and reproductive health at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in 2006.[1]

Career

Research

Simon has led research projects and published widely in the field of implementation science and community-based participatory research, with a particular focus on including diverse, underserved groups in research and achieving health equity outcomes. [6] She has received funding from the National Institutes of Health and foundations in support of this work. Simon's research efforts include deployment of several patient navigation initiatives, including the National Cancer Institute-funded Chinatown Patient Navigation Program, first launched in 2013 to improve access to cancer screenings, diagnostic follow-up, and treatment in Chicago's Greater Chinatown community and the NIH funded WellMama study investigating the effectiveness and implementation of a community doula navigator intervention on BIPOC perinatal health outcomes in Chicago, IL, Newark, NJ, and Baton Rouge, LA. .[1] She has received several awards and accolades for her work including the American Public Health Association (APHA) 2018 Award for Excellence.[7] She was recognized by the National Academy of Medicine as a Community Health Hero.[8]

Workforce development

Simon has been recognized for her mentoring excellence with high school students through junior faculty by the National Science Foundation (2018 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring).[9] Simon created and leads the first health care workforce development Massive Open Online Course, “Career 911: Your Future Job in Medicine and Healthcare.” [10][11][1] She is a Multiple Principal Investigator (MPI) on the Northwestern University Recruitment to Transform Under-Representation and achieve Equity (NURTURE) Grant, which is a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)'s Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation (FIRST) program. [12] NURTURE seeks to accelerate institutional culture change toward inclusive excellence through innovative institutional initiatives in hiring, mentoring, promotion and tenure, evaluation, and institutional accountability to ensure that all faculty can thrive. [13] Simon is the Principal Investigator (PI) of the T37 Northwestern University Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Training Program (NU-MHRT), which is an NIH program through the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD). [14] The T37 program provides health disparities research training experiences to minority and other underrepresented students and trainees at the undergraduate through postdoctoral levels in order to prepare and enhance the next generation of health sciences researchers committed to improving minority health and reducing health disparities. [15]

Government service

Simon served on the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) from 2017-2022. Since 2023, Simon has continued supporting the USPSTF as an advisor. This independent, volunteer panel of 16 national experts in medicine makes evidence-based recommendations about clinical preventive services.[16][1] She serves as a member of the National Academy of Medicine's Roundtable on the Promotion of Health Equity, which aims to promote health equity and eliminate health disparities by forging collaborative networks.[1][17] Simon is also a member of the National Academy of Medicine's Care Culture & Decision-Making Innovation Collaborative.[18]

Other service

Simon serves on the board of the Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force, saving women's lives by eliminating health disparities in Illinois through the lens of breast cancer.[19] She also serves on the board of the Health and Medicine Policy Research Group which has the mission of promoting health equity and social justice for all people in Illinois.[20] Simon was invited to the JAMA editorial board in 2023. [21]

Select honors and awards
  • Elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, 2021 [22]
  • National Academy of Medicine Community Health Hero, 2017[8]
  • National Science Foundation's Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring, 2018[9]
  • American Public Health Association (APHA) Award for Excellence, 2018 [7]
  • Presidential Leadership Scholars Program, 2019 [23]
  • Association of American Physicians, 2022 [24]
  • United States Preventive Services Task Force Member, 2017 [25]

References
  1. Biography. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. July 2019. Accessed on July 25, 2019. https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/Page/Biography/melissa-a-simon
  2. Health Equity Champion. NorthwesternMedicine Magazine. February 2019. Accessed on July 25, 2019. https://magazine.nm.org/2019/02/11/simon-health-equity-champion/
  3. New Center for Health Equity Transformation Established. NorthwesternMedicine Campus News. September 2018. Accessed on July 25, 2019. https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/2018/09/new-center-for-health-equity-transformation-established/
  4. $17.4 Million Grant to Tackle Cancer in Chicago’s Lower-Income, Minority Neighborhoods. Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University News. 2015. Accessed on July 25, 2019. https://www.cancer.northwestern.edu/news/2015/NCI-Underserved.html
  5. The Investiture of Melissa Simon, MD, MPH, as the Gardner Professor. NorthwesternMedicine News Blog. January 2015. Accessed on July 25, 2019. https://www.nm.org/about-us/northwestern-medicine-newsroom/nm-news-blog/the-investiture-of-melissa-simon-md-mph-as-the-gardner-professor
  6. "Melissa A Simon, MD, MPH". Northwestern Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine.
  7. American Public Health Association announces 2018 award recipients. American Public Health Association. October 2018. Accessed on July 25, 2019. https://www.apha.org/news-and-media/news-releases/apha-news-releases/2018/2018-awards-recipients
  8. Community Health Heroes. National Academy of Medicine. Accessed on July 25, 2019. https://nam.edu/community-health-heroes/
  9. Simon Honored with Presidential Award for Mentorship. News Center. Northwestern Medicine. July 2018. Accessed on 7/25/2019. https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/2018/07/simon-honored-with-presidential-award-for-mentorship/
  10. Career 911: Your Future Job in Medicine and Healthcare. Coursera. Accessed on July 25, 2019. https://www.coursera.org/learn/healthcarejobs
  11. NU, Chicago schools hope Web courses lead kids to medical careers. Chicago Tribune. October 2, 2015. Accessed on July 25, 2019. https://www.chicagotribune.com/bluesky/originals/ct-nu-online-courses-chicago-schools-20151002-story.html
  12. National Institutes of Health. "Program Snapshot".
  13. Northwestern University. "NURTURE Program- Fostering a sustainable culture of faculty diversity and inclusive excellence". NURTURE Program.
  14. National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services. "Overview Information".
  15. Northwestern University. "Training the Next Generation". Northwestern University, Center for Health Equity Transformation.
  16. Simon Appointed to U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. News Center. Northwestern Medicine. February 2017. Accessed on July 25, 2019. https://news.feinberg.northwestern.edu/2017/02/simon-appointed-to-u-s-preventive-services-task-force/
  17. Roundtable on the Promotion of Health Equity. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Health and Medicine Division. Accessed on July 25, 2019. http://www.nationalacademies.org/hmd/Activities/SelectPops/HealthDisparities.aspx
  18. National Academy of Medicine. Care Culture & Decision-Making Innovation Collaborative. Accessed on July 25, 2019. https://nam.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/CCDmICMeeting_5May17_Highlights.pdf
  19. Board Members. Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force. Accessed on July 25, 2019. http://www.chicagobreastcancer.org/site/epage/93312_904.htm
  20. Board of Directors. Health and Medicine Policy Research Group. Accessed on July 25, 2019. http://www.hmprg.org/about-us/board-of-directors/
  21. Journal of the American Medical Association. "Editorial Staff". JAMA Network.
  22. Rohman, Melissa (Oct 18, 2021). "Three Feinberg Faculty Elected to National Academy of Medicine". Northwestern Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine News Center. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  23. Melissa Simon Selected to Participate in Prestigious 2019 Presidential Leadership Scholar Program. Institute for Public Health and Medicine News. Northwestern Medicine. Accessed on July 25, 2019. https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/sites/ipham/news/simon-presidential.html
  24. Doss, Will (Apr 11, 2022). "Feinberg Faculty Elected to Prestigious Societies". Northwestern Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine News Center.
  25. Samuelson, Kristin (Feb 14, 2017). "Simon Appointed to U.S. Preventive Services Task Force". Northwestern Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine News Center.
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