About Dr. Simons
Russell is a PGY3 categorical general surgery resident. He grew up in Larchmont, NY and received his B.S. in Biology magna cum laude from Boston College as a Gabelli Presidential Scholar, his M.P.H. in health policy from Harvard University, and his M.D. from the University of Chicago where he was elected to membership in Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA).
Russell’s clinical interests currently include surgical oncology and trauma & acute care surgery. His most recent research focuses on the intersections between COVID-19 health policy, medical ethics, and social justice, and he regularly mentors students who share his academic interests and/or his identity as an LGBTQ+ person in medicine. A recipient of the 2022 U.S. Public Health Service Excellence in Public Health Award, Russell is fiercely passionate about promoting health equity and hopes to use his interdisciplinary training to influence state & federal policymaking.
As a medical student, Russell worked at Human Rights Watch where he investigated human rights concerns related to the opioid epidemic, the development of universal health coverage systems, and HIV/AIDS care for transgender women. While at Harvard, Russell worked as a Public Health Fellow in the office of Massachusetts state senator Jo Comerford. There, he drafted legislation to establish a system for promoting heath equity in policy decisions across state government. He was also selected as the student speaker for his graduating class, delivering a speech entitled “Politics are Public Health, Social Change is Medicine.”
Education
2020 - 2021
MPH - Harvard University (Health Policy)
Societies
- Pennsylvania Medical Society
- Philadelphia County Medical Society
Awards / Honors
2022
Excellence in Public Health Award
U.S. Public Health Service
2022
Alpha Omega Alpha
2021
Commencement Ceremony Student Speaker
Harvard University
2017 - 2022
Dean’s Scholarship for Outstanding Promise in Medicine
University of Chicago
2018 - 2022
Bucksbaum Institute Medical Student Scholar
University of Chicago
2018 - 2019
Pozen Family Center for Human Rights Internship Award
University of Chicago
2018
Hyde Park Institute Scholar in Ethics & Medicine
2013 - 2017
Gabelli Presidential Scholarship
Boston College
2017
Mary A. & Katherine G. Finneran Commencement Award
Boston College
2017
Senior to Remember
Boston College
2017
Order of the Cross & Crown, Chief Marshal
Boston College
2016
Alpha Sigma Nu
Boston College
Research
2020 - 2021
Public Health Fellow, Massachusetts State Senate
Office of Senator Jo Comerford
2018
Summer Intern, Human Rights Watch
Division of Health and Human Rights
2020 - 2021
Harvard University, Department of Health Policy & Management
John E. McDonough, DrPH, MPA; “Neoliberalism and Health Care.”
2020
The University of Chicago, Department of Medicine
Monica Peek, MD, MPH, MSc; “COVID-19 among African Americans: an action plan for mitigating disparities.”
2019
The University of Chicago, Department of Medicine
Renslow Sherer Jr, MD; “Using social media to enhance STI screening in Wuhan, China.”
- Contributed to the design, data analysis, and manuscript writing for a study evaluating the utility of dating applications as tools for increasing sexually transmitted infection screening rates among college-aged men who have sex with men in Wuhan, China
- Contributed to poster presented at IDWeek 2019
Publications
Original Papers
- Peek ME, Simons RA, Parker WF, Ansell DA, Rogers SO, Tucker Edmonds B. COVID-19 among African Americans: An action plan for mitigating disparities. Am J Public Health. 2021 Jan;111(2):286-292. PMID: 33351662.
- Jeganathan J, Saraf R, Mahmood M, Pal A, Bhasin MK, Huang T, Mittel A, Knio Z, Simons R, Khabbaz K, Senthilnathan V, Liu D, Sellke F, Matyal R. Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Atrial Tissue of Patients Developing Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation. Ann Thorac Surg. 2017 Nov;104(5):1547-1555. PMID: 28760472.
Abstracts
- Walker J, Simons R, Campbell JH, Burdo TH, William KC. “Macrophage infiltration and chronic immune activation correlates with encephalitis and cardiac fibrosis.” Abstracts from 13th International Symposium on Neurovirology. J Neurovil. 2015 Jun;21(suppl 1):S76. PMID: 25939609.
- Mallard J, Rife BD, Nolan D, Beck G, Simons R, Papazian E, Burdo TH, Salemi M, Williams KC. “Monocyte/macrophages that traffic from bone marrow are a source of CNS virus in Rhesus Macaques that develop SIVE.” Abstracts from 13th International Symposium on Neurovirology. J Neurovil. 2015 Jun;21(suppl 1):S43. PMID: 25939609.
- Mehta A, Bolyakov A, Simons R, King P, Schlegel P, Paduch D, . “Use of testicular sperm may improve ART outcomes in couples with previously failed treatment and abnormal ejaculated sperm TUNEL results.” J Urol. 2013 May; 189(4S):e774-775.
- Funaro M, Mehta A, Simons R, Bolyakov A, Mielnik A, Shevchuk M, Sclegel P, Paduch D. “Age dependent degeneration of Sertoli and Leydig cells in adolescents and men with Klinefelter Syndrome: a histological analysis.” J Urol. 2013 May; 189(4S):e836-837.
Posters
- Newman McCort M, Haojie H, Jiang I, Lio J, Yanmeng F, Simons R, Sherer R. “Using social media to enhance an STI screening program in Wuhan, China.” IDWeek, October 2019, Washington, D.C.
- Mallard J, Rife BD, Nolan D, Beck G, Simons R, Papazian E, Burdo TH, Salemi M, Williams KC. “Bone Marrow Macrophages are a Potential Source of CNS Virus With SIV-encephalitis.” Poster presented: Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, Boston, MA, 2016.
Non-Peer-Reviewed Publications & Media
- Simons R. Politics Are Public Health, Social Change Is Medicine. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Commencement Ceremony. 2021; Boston, MA: US. PDF available upon request, recording available (11:30–18:34).
- The Office of Massachusetts State Senator Jo Comerford. An Act Establishing Health Equity at All Levels In Government. 2021; S.1388, H.2373. Boston, MA: US. Available here
- † Human Rights Watch. “Not Allowed to Be Compassionate”: Chronic Pain, the Overdose Crisis, and Unintended Harms in the US. 2018. New York, NY: US. Available here
- † Human Rights Watch. Living at Risk: Transgender Women, HIV, and Human Rights in South Florida. 2018. New York, NY: US. Available here
- Simons R. The Color of HIV. The Medical Humanities Journal of Boston College. 2015; 2:57-64. PDF available by request.
- Arnold M, Bowers J, Cahill MK, Cole C, Gonzalez M, Husein I, La Torre A, Lorica C, Lyons O, Magill L, Makransky D, Mu J, Perryman M, Ruh C, Rager T, Schuler M, Simons R, Toghramadjian H. A Boston State of Mind. [Documentary]. 2015. Available here
† Human Rights Watch is a non-governmental organization that publishes reports after extensive expert review.