M. Celeste Simon
· Arthur H. Rubenstein, MBBCh ProfessorUniversity of Pennsylvania · Rehabilitation Medicine
Active 1970–2026
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About
M. Celeste Simon, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. Her research focuses on cancer cell metabolism, tumor immunology, metastasis, and responses to oxygen and nutrient deprivation in the tumor microenvironment. Her laboratory studies how vascular insufficiency in solid tumors creates microenvironments with limited oxygen and blood-borne nutrients, triggering complex adaptive responses mediated by molecular mechanisms such as hypoxia-inducible factors (HIF), mTOR signaling, autophagy, and ER stress responses. The overall goal of her research is to elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which changes in oxygen and nutrient availability modulate normal tissue homeostasis and contribute to cancer progression, with particular emphasis on metabolic reprogramming, metastasis, and immune interactions in cancers such as kidney, liver, pancreatic, and soft tissue sarcoma.
Research topics
- Cell biology
- Biology
- Cancer research
- Biochemistry
- Genetics
- Chemistry
- Medicine
- Evolutionary biology
- Computational biology
- Pathology
Selected publications
Current Biology · 2020 · 2546 citations
Senior authorCorrespondingCellular adaptation to hypoxia through hypoxia inducible factors and beyond
Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology · 2020 · 1196 citations
Senior authorCorrespondingTargeting glutamine metabolism slows soft tissue sarcoma growth
Nature Communications · 2020 · 99 citations
Senior authorCorrespondingTumour cells frequently utilize glutamine to meet bioenergetic and biosynthetic demands of rapid cell growth. However, glutamine dependence can be highly variable between in vitro and in vivo settings, based on surrounding microenvironments and complex adaptive responses to glutamine deprivation. Soft tissue sarcomas (STSs) are mesenchymal tumours where cytotoxic chemotherapy remains the primary approach for metastatic or unresectable disease. Therefore, it is critical to identify alternate ther…
FBP1 controls liver cancer evolution from senescent MASH hepatocytes
Nature · 2025-01-01 · 41 citations
articleOpen accessCell Reports · 2024-11-01 · 32 citations
articleOpen accessSenior authorPancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive malignancy with abundant cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) creating hallmark desmoplasia that limits oxygen and nutrient delivery. This study explores the importance of lipid homeostasis under stress. Exogenous unsaturated lipids, rather than de novo synthesis, sustain PDAC cell viability by relieving endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress under nutrient scarcity. Furthermore, CAFs are less hypoxic than adjacent malignant cells in vivo, nomi…
Recent grants
NIH · $2.3M · 2003
NIH · $6.1M · 2018
Metabolic Influences on Complex Tumor Neighborhoods
NIH · $8.5M · 2017–2030
Frequent coauthors
- 430 shared
Brian Keith
- 303 shared
Nicolas Skuli
California University of Pennsylvania
- 139 shared
Ellen Puré
University of Pennsylvania
- 109 shared
Lijoy K. Mathew
- 104 shared
Romain Riscal
- 103 shared
T.S. Karin Eisinger‐Mathason
- 94 shared
Joseph L. Kissil
Moffitt Cancer Center
- 91 shared
Freddy Radtke
Swiss Cancer Center Léman
Labs
Education
- 1977
B.A., Microbiology
Miami University
- 1980
M.S., Microbiology
Ohio State University
- 1985
Ph.D., Molecular Biology
The Rockefeller University
Awards & honors
- Nuclear speckles regulate functional programs in cancer (202…
- FBA1 is a nonenzymatic safety valve preventing insulin hyper…
- Blocking methionine catabolism induces senescence and confer…
- Gastric Cancer Research Award (2022)
- Cholesterol auxotrophy as a targetable vulnerability in clea…
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