M. Celeste Simon

Research focused on oxygen biology, particularly cellular, tissue, and organismal responses to changes in oxygen availability, impacts diverse fields-embryology, stem cell biology, physiology, immunology cancer-and employs both model systems and patient specimens. Able to translate understanding of basic mechanisms of responses to changes in oxygen availability into important biological paradigms and therapies. Research determined that oxygen gradients working through hypoxia inducible factors (HIFs) and other O2 sensors are essential for all aspects of cardiovascular development in the mammalian embryo, including angiogenesis and hematopoiesis. Recent work showed that oxygen availability also influences behavior of multiple stem cell populations as well as the progression of multiple diseases, such as inflammation and solid tumors. Increasingly emerging as an important figure bridging basic and clinical research in current position as scientific director of the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute.