Anne Simon

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Anne Elizabeth Simon (born June 6, 1956 in Manhasset , New York ) is an American biologist , scientist and university professor . She became known worldwide through her work as a scientific advisor on the American television series The X-Files (German: The X Files - The FBI's uncanny cases ).

Life and professional career

Anne Simon grew up in cramped conditions in California, the second oldest of four children. Her father worked as a freelance television writer and in 1961 the family moved to London , where he wrote the script for Judy Garland's final film, I Could Go On Singing . When she was seven, the family moved to Paris for two years, where Simon attended a French school. In 1978 she graduated from the University of California in San Diego her Bachelor of Arts degree in biology with honors Magna cum laude and in 1982 at the Indiana University her Ph.D. in genetics .

From 1987 on, she initially worked in the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Massachusetts and was able to move to the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology as an Assistant Professor in 1990 , which was much better suited to her own interests. Between 1992 and 1996 she went through the further stages of her academic career from associate professor to associate head of the department up to a full professorship in 1996.

After 13 years in Massachusetts, Simon moved to the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) in 2000 . There she works as a plant virologist and professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics and heads the university's virology program. Her research focuses on virus replication and symptom expression using the model virus Turnip Crinkle Virus (TCV) , the Pea Enation Mosaic Virus (PEMV) and the Saguaro Cactus Virus (SCV) . Their research include, among other things, the question of how RNA viruses whose genomes of RNA exist, proteins produce.

In the course of her professional career, Simon has received numerous prizes, awards and grants for her research. The National Science Foundation granted her grants of more than 2.4 million US dollars for eight different research projects between 1988 and 2006; Added to this was an additional $ 1.8 million for two projects from the National Institutes of Health between 2002 and 2007 . She continuously published scientific articles and essays. She is also the editor of the Journal of Virology . Simon lectured and gave workshops at a large number of national and international conferences and symposia, for example in Sydney (1999), Paris (2002) and Valencia (2003). Numerous universities in the United States, including Tennessee State University , Yale University, and the University of California, Berkeley , invited her to give guest seminars at their Departments of Microbiology or Medical Schools .

The X-Files

Through her friendly contacts with the family of the series creator Chris Carter , she came into contact with the series The X-Files , for which she worked as a scientific consultant from 1994. She first appeared in the last episode of the first season, which was broadcast in the United States on May 13, 1994 under the title The Erlenmeyer Flask 'Der Erlenmeyerkolben ' (German episode title: Das Labor ). She advised on all nine seasons of the original series and also on the six-part new edition of the series in 2016.

In the late 1990s Simon asked in one of her lectures if the serial character of the FBI - agent and forensic scientist Dana Scully influence had on the study as well as career choices of their students. More than half of the respondents said that Scully was a role model for them. This phenomenon, the so-called Scully effect , which has been proven in a study , mainly occurred in English-speaking countries.

In 2001, Simon wrote a book about the science behind the series called The Real Science Behind the X-Files: Microbes, Meteorites and Mutants , The Real Science Behind the X-Files: Microbes, Meteorites and Mutants .

Personal

Anne Simon's mother is Sandra Fingerman Simon, her father is the screenwriter and playwright Mayo Simon. The London-based children's author Francesca Simon is her older sister. On June 29, 1980, Simon married her professional colleague Clifford D. Carpenter; however, in a 2017 podcast interview with Simon Fraser University, Canada , she stated that she was single again. Simon owns two dogs and horses and is an enthusiastic rider.

Awards and honors (selection)

  • 1982: Esther L. Kinsley Ph.D. Dissertation Award for the most outstanding dissertation at Indiana University
  • 1997: Distinguished Teaching Award from the University of Massachusetts
  • 2002: Richard Francki Prize for outstanding research in plant virology
  • 2008: College of Chemical and Life Sciences Annual Service Award
  • 2011: Plant Virus Councilor of the American Society for Virology
  • 2012: Nomination for President of the American Society for Virology
  • 2014: Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology

Publications (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Anne Elizabeth Simon. prabook.org, accessed March 3, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Francesca Simon interview: what makes Henry so horrid? The Daily Telegraph , April 5, 2010, accessed March 3, 2020 .
  3. ^ A b c Curriculum Vitae Anne Elizabeth Simon. (PDF) University of Maryland, accessed March 3, 2020 .
  4. ↑ a b c Vanessa Reich-Shackelford: Episode 9: Anne Simon, PhD, Virologist and X-Files Science Advisor. (Podcast) Simon Fraser University, August 22, 2017, accessed March 3, 2020 (English, podcast of the series Westcoast Women in Engineering, Science and Technology , with photo by Anne Simon and a transcript of the entire text ).
  5. ^ Anne Simon's Turnip Crinkle Virus Laboratory. University of Maryland, accessed March 3, 2020 .
  6. ^ Journal of Virology. Editorial Board. American Society of Microbiology, accessed March 3, 2020 .
  7. ^ Scully Effect. In: spookyverse.de. July 23, 2018, accessed March 3, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Jamie Forzato: U.Md. professor provides the science behind 'The X-Files'. WTOP / Washington's Top News, July 30, 2015, accessed March 3, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Simon, Anne
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Simon, Anne Elizabeth (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American biologist and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH June 6, 1956
PLACE OF BIRTH Manhasset , New York (State) , United States