Charles Simmons, MD

Chair, Pediatrics

Director, Neonatology
Email:charles.simmons@cshs.org
Phone:(310) 423-4416
Fax:(310) 423-0460

Academic Appointments

Professor, Pediatrics

Awards and Activities

Ruth and Harry Roman Chair in Neonatology2002
FIRST Award, NIH/NICHD1996
Hearst Foundation Award, Harvard Medical School1994
Milton Fund Award, Harvard Medical School1993
Clinical Investigator Award, NIH/NICHD1987
Charles A. Janeway Award, Children's Hospital, Boston1984
Harold Lamport Biomedical Research Award, Harvard Medical School1980
M.D., magna cum laude, Harvard Medical School1980
Society for Pediatric Research1995
President, California Association of Neonatologists2008 - 2009
American Pediatric Society2009

Research Focus

Cellular and molecular biology of inflammation and fibrosis. Utilize cellular and molecular approaches to understand the developmental biology of the myofibroblast in transgenic mouse and human tissue model systems. Fibrotic diseases include asthma, pulmonary hypertension, atherosclerosis, intrauterine growth restriction, preterm labor, chronic lung disease, retinopathy, inflammatory bowel disease, cirrhosis, and congestive heart failure. The long-range goal is to prevent or treat common fibrotic disease in newborns and across the lifespan through discovery of new strategies to modulate myofibroblast differentiation.

Research Contributions

Developed a transgenic mouse strain that expresses Enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein (EGFP) in cells that are of myofibroblast lineage. Developed a technology platform to rapidly isolate and immortalize pure populations of these cells from specific organs based upon detection of cellular fluorescence and cell sorting, thus allowing expression profiling of genes involved in the signal transduction pathways of myofibroblast differentiation. The laboratory seeks to identify novel treatments for fibrotic disorders based upon modulation of signal transduction pathways in these organ specific cell lines.

Current investigations include:

EGFP transgenic reporter models of inflammation and fibrosis. Myofibroblast signal transduction pathways. Stem cell niche signaling. Outcomes of common fibrotic diseases in newborns.

Selected Publications

  1. Equils O, Nambiar P, Hobel CJ, Smith R, Simmons CF, Vali S: A computer simulation of progesterone and Cox2 inhibitor treatment for preterm labor. PLoS ONE, 5(1): e8502, 2010
  2. Powers RJ, Wirtschafter D, Perinatal Quality Improvement Panel of the California Perinatal Quality Care Collaborative: Prevention of Group B Streptococcus early-onset disease: a toolkit by the California Perinatal Quality Care Collaborative. J Perinatol, 30(2): 77-87, 2009
  3. Equils O, Moffatt-Blue C, Ishikawa TO, Simmons CF, Ilievski V, Hirsch E: Pretreatment with pancaspase inhibitor (Z-VAD-FMK) delays but does not prevent intraperitoneal heat-killed group B Streptococcus-induced preterm delivery in a pregnant mouse model. Infect Dis Obstet Gynecol, 2009: 749432, 2009
print button
WP3