Personal Details/Academic Background

 

Rebecca Simmons is Professor of Pediatrics and Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. She is also attending Neonatologist at Children’s Hospital Philadelphia and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

 

Responsibilities and Assignments

 

 

Research and Achievements

 

Professor Rebecca Simmons’ research has been focused on early programming in fetal life and its role in the etiology of diabetes and obesity. The aim was to identify molecular mechanisms that link fetal and neonatal malnutrition with adult-onset diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, breast cancer and obesity. Her work has progressed from phenomenological description to the unraveling of mechanisms involved and has led to a better understanding of programming and the early life causes of adult disease.

 

By experimentally inducing intrauterine growth retardation in the rat model, the offspring, although initially looking phenotypically intact, developed later progressive dysfunction of the pancreatic beta cells and showed features of human type 2 diabetes.

 

Professor Simmons has elucidated the mechanisms involved in this progressive beta cell failure by showing that it was due to mitochondrial dysfunction secondary to mutations in mitochondrial DNA resulting from oxidative damage. She has also demonstrated that some of the dysfunction is due to epigenetic changes. Progressive dysfunction was not limited to pancreatic beta cells but also occurred in the liver and the brain.

 

Professor Rebecca Simmons went beyond the description of the phenomenological effects of fetal growth retardation to unraveling the underlying mechanisms. Her findings opened up avenues for preventive and therapeutic interventions. Possible interventional strategies that can be used to prevent and treat fetal growth restriction and also prevent the long-term effects of fetal or neonatal malnutrition include providing a most appropriate maternal diet during pregnancy as well as a postnatal diet for infants.

 

In a separate line of investigation Professor Rebecca Simmons is looking at mechanisms that explain how maternal obesity during pregnancy programs offspring for obesity.

 

Professional Milestones

 

Professor Simmons has developed several research methods and model systems throughout her work:

Cell culture and animal models to study fetal programming (the effect of an abnormal in-utero environment- IUGR, obesity, diabetes-upon fetal growth and development and the later development of obesity and diabetes).

Epigenetic regulation of gene expression (DNA methylation and histone acetylation and methylation) using bisulfite sequencing and ChIP assays

Measures of Mitochondrial function-oxidative phosphorylation and electron transport chain activity.

 

Awards and Recognition

 

 

In recognition of her outstanding contributions in fetal and early neonatal programming, Prof. Rebecca Simmons is awarded the Hamdan Award for Medical Research Excellence for Nutrition in Neonates and Infants for the 2011-2012 term.