Dr. Simon is a Rheumatologist and has been the Division Director of Analgesic, Anti-inflammatory and Ophthalmologic Drug Products (DAAODP) (2001-2003), within the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), FDA. He has served on and has been the Acting Chair of the Arthritis Advisory Committee of the DAAODP (1993-2001). He has also served on the advisory committees for the Division of Over the Counter Drugs (1996), Center for Devices (1995), and for the Division of Hematologic and Gastroenterologic Drug Products (1996).
He has been a clinical Rheumatologist for 25 years. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians (1991) and a Master of American College of Rheumatology (2019). He was at Harvard Medical School and the BIDMC as an Associate Professor of Medicine (1996-2001) and as an Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine (2001-2008). Dr. Simon has had extensive experience in drug development in the US, and has served on consulting advisory boards for many different companies. He was a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded investigator for 12 years working at the “wet bench” at the MGH .
He has served for two terms on the Board of Directors of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) (1991-1993, 1994-1997), served as the Chair of Education for the ACR and on the committee of the National Arthritis Foundation. He has served as the Scientific Abstract Selection Chair of the Annual Meeting of the ACR (2002). He has been awarded the 2003 Distinguished Service Award of the ACR and has been awarded the 2003 Scientific Leadership Award of the Lupus Research Institute. He served on the Steering Committee of IMPAACT, a group developing recommendations for the design and implementation of clinical trials investigating pain and now on the steering Committee of ACTTION, a public private partnership with FDA studying improved clinical trials designs and outcomes for both acute and chronic pain. He is on the Steering Committee and was Co-chair of the 2012, 2020, 2023 OMERACT (Outcome Measures in Rheumatology) Biannual Meeting. He served on the Steering Committee of the NIH Osteoarthritis Initiative (2001-2003). Dr. Simon has served as Chair of the biannual “Innovative Therapies in “Autoimmune Disease” conference sponsored by the ACR, FDA, NIH, and the Arthritis Foundation (2001-2005).