Simonne holds both Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) registration as a Senior Biomedical Scientist and a Fellow for the Higher Education Academy.  Drawing on 20 years of multidisciplinary pathology experience she has worked in both the NHS and private sector. Over four years she has divided her time between biomedical science practice and lecturing for University of Brighton (UoB). Now as a full-time academic, Simonne is module lead for Clinical Placement in NHS pathology laboratories and has redesigned the biomedical science training programme that has been praised by Institute Biomedical Science (IBMS) professional body for its ability to withstand COVID-19 pandemic pressures and support trainees through turblent and uncertain working environments. 

In 2021, together with her research partner, was awarded a NHSBT research grant to form an interdisciplinary team who are passionate about promoting a better understanding of the complexities that surround organ donation and transplantation pathway. Drawing on successful education pilot studies the research team are offering student researchers to co-design and co-deliver education events to tackle the health inequalities experienced by the Black and South Asian communities who rely on the low supply of ethnically-matched donated organs for successful transplantations. 

Simonne has a wide scope of research interests:

• Covid-19 Research team with Universities of Oxford, Glasgow, Shefield and Lincoln who are building on the success of a published work which uses artificial intelligence to help the early detection of coronavirus.
• In science communications she was awarded the opportunity to be one of the biomedical advisors for a Wellcome Trust funded research project titled ‘Blood Culture’ (https://www.blood-culture.com/credits.html).
• Simonne is the principle researcher on a NHSBT Community Investment Scheme funded project whose project is one of the 35 community projects in England that have received a share of £600,000 funding as part of the Government’s commitment to tackle health inequalities in Black and Asian communities. More info follow https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/donorresearch/
• As a practicing biomedical science for the private and public sector, Simonne is interested in developing and evaluating quality improvement interventions within the patient-care pathway that involve multi-disciplinary teams that ultimately improve health outcomes for patients. Specifically, there is call for more action in reducing the errors that occur during the transfusion pathway as indicated by the latest SHOT (Serious Hazards of Transfusion) report.
• Simonne has also completed an intensive realist methodology training at the Centre for Advancement in Realist Evaluation and Synthesis and will conducting collaborative research for publication.

Keywords: Realist methodology, Implementation Science, Clinical Predictive Models, Quality Improvement, Organ donation and transplantation

Simonne is involved in a number of Biomedical Science research engagements such as:

1. She is an active member of the Applied Biosciences Research and Enterprise Group (REG) within PABS. Within this research support network she develops grant proposals for external funding which enhances her research profile. In turn, her revised proposals are effectively translated into undergraduate and postgraduate research projects. Such as investigating the ‘Effects of storage on RBCs for efficacy for transfusion’ . This research was modified to incorporate and build on the laboratory skills her students have experienced throughout their degree.

2. Awarded Wellcome Trust funding for a student to work with her in the laboratory over summer 2018 on an Infection Prevention research study.

3. She currently supervises a diverse range of research topics which enable her students to learn research skills in:

• Tissue Culture labs e.g., ‘Growth inhibition and apoptosis progression in human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma by the isothiocyanate sulforaphane’

• Microbiology labs e.g., ‘Evaluating the Antimicrobial Capabilities of Manuka Honey by accessing the inhibitory response of Staphylococcus aureus ‘

• Biosciences meta-analysis.g., ‘Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML); a review of its origin, genetics, clinical progression, and current treatment strategies.’

4. Awarded Research Investment Fund (PABSRIF) funding to attend conference NAEP (The National Association of Educators in Practice) titled ‘Learning in Practice: a critical perspective'. This has enabled her to secure a collaboration research partners with Kings Hospital University NHS trust and BSUH NHS Trust to design, implement and evaluate a 'Organ donation and transplantation' education intervention.

The number of pedagogical developments she has designed and implemented include:

1. A peer-assessment element to laboratory assessment: providing immediate feedback that has enhanced student learning and reduced the marking burden. More importantly this addressed a key area in the NSS and BSS survey of student’s unsatisfactory response to feedback.

2. Participation in a university pilot study that was published on Edublogs in 2015 using apps like Nearpod when teaching and learning in large cohorts.

3. Nominated for ‘Innovative Teaching’ Award for University of Brighton