M. Celeste Simon, Ph.D. is the Scientific Director of the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute and an Associate Director of the Cancer Center at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Simon’s research is focused on how cells sense and respond to changes in the availability of molecular oxygen and nutrients. This affects normal development, physiology, and numerous diseases, such as the growth of solid tumors. The Simon Laboratory is studying how O 2 sensing impacts tumor inflammation, metabolism, metastasis, and overall disease progression. She accesses animal models and cancer patient samples with the ultimate goal of developing novel strategies to treat tumors such as pancreatic cancer, soft tissue sarcoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, and renal cancer. Dr. Simon currently directs a laboratory of 18 individuals, including graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, clinical fellows, and research technicians. She was an HHMI Investigator for twenty years, and has received numerous awards recognizing her research, such as the Fouad Bashour Award for Distinguished Physiologists, Stanley N. Cohen Award for Biomedical Research, and Elliot Osserman Award from the Israel Cancer Research Fund. In 2014, she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Academy of Medicine in 2018. She received an NCI Outstanding Investigator Award in 2017 and was named a Fellow of the AACR Academy in 2021. She was also elected to the National Academy of Sciences on April 26, 2021 and named the 2021 FASEB Lifetime Achievement Awardee for her research, leadership, and mentoring.