Rebecca A. Simmons

Dr. Rebecca A. Simmons serves as the Hallam Hurt Professor in Neonatology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. Her leadership roles include Associate Director of the Center for Research on Reproduction and Women's Health, Director of the Career Development Core for the Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology (CEET), Deputy Director of CEET, and Principal Investigator of the March of Dimes Preterm Birth Research Center.

Her educational background includes:

• B.S. from University of Arizona, Tucson (with Distinction and Honors), 1978
• M.D. from University of Arizona, 1983

Her post-graduate training encompasses Pediatric Residency at University of Arizona Medical Center (1983-1986) and Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship at Cardiovascular Research Institute, San Francisco (1986-1989).

Dr. Simmons' research program centers on elucidating how fetal growth retardation leads to adult-onset obesity and type 2 diabetes through molecular mechanisms. Her work investigates oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and epigenetic regulation of gene expression using rodent models of intrauterine growth restriction. A key discovery involves how oxidative stress induces aberrant methylation at the Pdx-1 promoter, causing permanent beta-cell dysfunction. Her therapeutic research with Exendin-4 has demonstrated prevention of diabetes and obesity in IUGR models by restoring normal beta-cell development and function.

Her publication record reveals consistent focus on developmental origins of metabolic disease, with particular emphasis on intrauterine environment impacts on long-term health outcomes. The research spans neonatology, endocrinology, and molecular biology, connecting basic science discoveries to potential clinical applications for preventing metabolic disorders originating in the perinatal period.

As Principal Investigator of the March of Dimes Preterm Birth Research Center and leadership roles in multiple research centers, Dr. Simmons significantly contributes to advancing knowledge in neonatal outcomes and developmental programming of health and disease.

Her laboratory employs diverse methodologies including animal models of fetal programming, epigenetic analysis techniques, and mitochondrial function measurements to investigate how abnormal intrauterine environments affect fetal development and long-term metabolic health.