Prof Evan Simpson

Prince Henry's Institute of Medical Research, Victoria

Dr Evan Simpson is a native of Edinburgh, Scotland. He was educated at Trinity Academy and George Heriot’s. He then studied Biochemistry at Edinburgh University, graduating with a BSc (hons. – 1st) and a PhD. He did post-doctoral training at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, and eventually returned there to take up a faculty position. He rose to full professor and Associate Director of the Cecil and Ida Green Center of Reproductive Biology Sciences. In 1996 he moved to Melbourne, Australia to become Director of Prince Henry’s Institute of Medical Research, a position he held until 2007. Currently he is a Senior Principle Research Fellow of the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, and runs the breast cancer research lab at Prince Henry’s. Evan has had a long interest in the basic biology of oestrogen biosynthesis, especially its relationship to breast cancer.  His group was the first to clone and characterize the aromatase gene, responsible for oestrogen biosynthesis, and to show the unique use of tissue-specific promoters to regulate tissue-specific expression of the gene. This led in turn to the concept of breast-specific inhibitors of aromatase expression as a novel therapeutic modality for breast cancer in post-menopausal women. His group’s development of the aromatase knockout mouse, as a model of oestrogen deficiency, provided new insights into the role of oestrogens in the physiology and pathophysiology of both male and females. More recently his group is working to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the relationship between obesity, aging and breast cancer. In recognition of his contributions, Evan has received numerous citations, the most recent being in April of this year when he was awarded the 2011 Dale Medal of the UK Society for Endocrinology, the highest honour awarded by this Society.