Interim Director, Babraham Institute
Simon joined the Institute as a tenure-track group leader in 1997 and held a CRUK Senior Cancer Research Fellowship from 2000-2006. His lab investigates how protein kinases orchestrate the cellular response to growth factors, nutrient availability or stress and damage. One focus in the area of nutrient signalling and longevity is understanding the cellular and molecular basis of the lifespan extension observed upon chronic mTOR inhibition. The group also work to define the role of the ERK1/2, JNK and p38 signalling pathways in stress resistance and cell longevity. Simon has collaborated extensively with the biotech and pharma sector to translate his knowledge of signalling pathways, including a long-standing collaboration with AstraZeneca.
From 2013-2021 Simon coordinated Knowledge Exchange and Commercialisation activities within the Institute. Since September 2020, he has led the Institute’s Signalling research programme and he was appointed as Interim Director in 2021. Simon has served on BBSRC Biochemistry and Cell Biology and Worldwide Cancer Research (AICR) grants committees and the scientific advisory boards of the Beatson Institute Drug Discovery Unit, the CRUK Therapeutic Discovery Labs and the Northern Institute for Cancer Research Drug Discovery Unit. He currently serves on the Scientific Sub-Committee of PhoreMost, a drug discovery SME based on the Babraham Research Campus