Christian Simon, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine 500 Newton Road, 1-110 MEB Iowa City, IA 52242 319-353-4681 E-mail:csimn@healthcare.uiowa.edu

Graduate Education

• M.A.  (Medical Anthropology) Department of Anthropology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa, April 1990
• Ph.D. (Medical Anthropology) Joint Medical Anthropology Program, University of California, San Francisco and University of California, Berkeley, 1997
• Postdoctoral (Behavioral Cancer Prevention and Control) Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cleveland, Ohio, Fall 2001-Fall 2003

Teaching Activities

• Program in Bioethics and Humanities, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine
  • Course Director, Clinical Research Ethics (2 credits), University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Spring 2009
• Department of Bioethics, Case Western Reserve University
  • Director, Research Ethics Core Course (3 credits), Masters Program in Bioethics, Spring 2008
  • Director, Research Ethics Practicum (80 hrs/semester), Masters Program in Bioethics, Spring 2008
  • Director, International Health Research Ethics (3 credits), Master’s Program in Bioethics, Spring 2008
  • Instructor, Foundations in Bioethics I and II (6 credits), Master’s Program in Bioethics, select components (2003-2008): Pediatric Ethics unit; Community-Based Public Health lecture; Research with Children lecture; Culture, Health, and Illness lecture
  • Block 1: What it Means to be  a Physician Case Western Reserve University Medical School, 2006, 2007-2008
  • Guest Lecture: Informed Consent, Case Western Reserve University Law School, 2006
  • Altruism in Bioethics, 2005-2008
  • International Bioethics: Policy and Practice, 2005-2008

Research Interests

• Research Ethics and Informed Consent
• E-medicine
• Communication in Cancer Care
• International Health and Bioethics Participatory Community Health
• Ethics of Genomic Research

Recent Publications

• Mosavel, M. and C. Simon “Cervical cancer attitudes and beliefs: a Cape Town community responds on World Cancer Day.” Journal of Cancer Education, April 2009, 24(2): 114-119.
• Simon, C., L. Acheson, G. Wiesner, C. Burant, N. Gerson, S. Schramm., and S. Lewis “Patient interest in recording family histories of cancer via the Internet. Genetics in Medicine, December 2008, 10(12):895-902.
• Simon, C. and S. Schramm “Cancer and the computerized family: towards a clinical ethics of ‘indirect’ internet use.” Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy, September 2008, 11( 3):337-341.
• Ezeome, E.R. and C. Simon “Ethical problems in conducting research in acute epidemics: The Pfizer meningitis study in Nigeria as an illustration." Developing World Bioethics, 2008, 9999(9999).
• Simon, C. and M. Mosavel “Key conceptual issues in the forging of ‘culturally competent’ community health initiatives: A South African example.” Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, Spring 2008, 17(2):195-205.
• Simon, C. “Innovative medicine: a case study of a modern healer.” Republished in Medical Anthropology, Helman, Cecil (ed). 2008. The International Library of Essays in Anthropology Series. Ashgate Publishing.
• Simon, C., M. Mosavel, and D. van Stade “Ethical challenges in the design and conduct of locally relevant international health research.” Social Science and Medicine, 2007, (64): 1960-69.
• Simon, C., S. Zyzanski, E. Durand, X. Jimenez, and, E. Kodish "Interpreter accuracy and informed consent among Spanish-speaking families with cancer." Journal of Health Communication, 2006, 11 (5): 509-522.
• Mosavel, M., C. Simon, and D. van Stade "The Mother-Daughter Relationship: What is the Potential for Health Promotion?" Health Care for Women International, 2006 (August), 27(7): 646-64.
• Simon, C., Michelle Eder, Eric Kodish, and Laura Siminoff. “Altruistic discourse in the informed consent process for childhood cancer clinical trials.” American Journal of Bioethics (Target Article with 6 commentaries), 2006 (Sep-Oct), 6 (5): 40-7.
• Abbe, Marisa, C. Simon, A. Angiolillo, K. Ruccione, and E. D. Kodish 2006. “A survey of language barriers from the perspective of pediatric oncologists, interpreters, and parents.” Pediatric Blood and Cancer, 2006 (November), 47 (6): 819-824.

Current Projects

• What and how patients learn online about clinical trials
• The ethics of documenting family histories of cancer on the Internet
• Quality improvement tools for informed consent to research

Current Grant Support

• The Clinical and Translational Science Award ( CTSA) funded by the NIH to support the University of Iowa's Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (ICTS).
• Career Development Award in Applied Bioethics (Grant # CA 108457)
  2004-2009; Total direct costs: $428,142; Principal Investigator: Christian Simon, Ph.D.
  

University Service

• 2006-2008, Full member, Cancer Institutional Review Board (IRB), NCI-Designated Cancer Center/Cleveland Clinic/University Hospitals, Cleveland, Ohio
• 2006-2008, Board member, Case Cancer Institutional Review Board, CWRU
• 2006-2008, Bioethics Department, Committee on Visiting Foreign Scholars, CWRU
• 2006-2008, Mentor, Prevention Research Educational Postdoctoral Training Program (PREP)
• 2004-2008, Bioethics Department, Committee on Appointments, Promotions, and Tenure, CWRU

Professional Service

• 2008-10, Consultant: Center for Social Science Research on AIDS (CesSSRA), (NIH RFA HD-06-007) "Global Partnerships for Social Science Research on AIDS" (PI: McGrath, Janet, Department of Anthropology, CWRU)
• 2008-09, Consultant: Interpreters as Advocates for Spanish-speaking Patients (NIH/P60). (PI: Darryl Thorton, MD, Center for Reducing Health Disparities, Metro Health Center, Cleveland, Ohio
• 2008, Review panel: Journal of General Internal Medicine
• 2008, Review panel: The Lancet
• 2008, Review panel: Public Health Ethics
• 2007, Review panel: American Journal of Bioethics
• 2007, Review panel: The Hastings Center Report