Tatum S. Simonson, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, John B. West Endowed Chair in Respiratory Physiology
Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep Medicine, and Physiology
Department of Medicine
University of California San Diego School of Medicine
Faculty Host: Andrew McCulloch, Ph.D.
Seminar Information
The aim of our research is to integrate genetic, molecular, and physiological analyses of low-oxygen (hypoxia) responses in high-altitude adapted populations to uncover how natural variation impacts hypoxia-related illnesses and disease states. Our team’s research provided evidence that hypoxia-related genes are targeted by natural selection in Tibetan and Andean groups, and genetic variations at these loci are linked to physiological traits such as relatively low hemoglobin concentration at altitude. We are further interested in how breathing and sleep patterns influence oxygen saturation and are exploring ways to enhance oxygen saturation through use of biotherapeutics. These studies have broad implications for the prevention and treatment of clinical conditions such as acute and chronic mountain sickness, sleep apnea, and cardiopulmonary disease.
Dr. Tatum Simonson is an Associate Professor and the John B. West Endowed Chair in Respiratory Physiology in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep Medicine, and Physiology in the Department of Medicine at UC San Diego, the Founder and Co-Director of the Center for Physiological Genomics of Low Oxygen, and a National Geographic Society Explorer. Her research team investigates hypoxia responses that range from generational adaptation to short-term acclimatization and how this natural variation underlies outcomes to this challenge. She has completed prominent research studies (published in Science, Nature Genetics, Science Advances, PNAS) that have been supported by Parker B. Francis Foundation and American Physiological Society Giles F. Filley Memorial Awards, National Institutes of Health, and National Geographic Society. Dr. Simonson also serves on editorial boards for High Altitude Medicine and Biology and Frontiers in Physiology, her Division’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee, and is an active member of various international and national societies. Dr. Simonson teaches courses in pulmonary physiology and human evolutionary genetics and mentors undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty, actively supporting the next generation of scientists.