SIMCOX, Judith

Statement of interest

I attended my first ASBMB national conference when I was an undergraduate in 2004, and the experience was transformative and a major steppingstone for me to become a professor.

My laboratory uses mass spectrometry–based lipidomics to identify lipids that regulate metabolic disease, functionally characterize these lipids using molecular biology and determine how transport of these lipids is mediated. This work has led me to serve as a junior associate editor for the Journal of Lipid Research and serve in the ASBMB Lipid Research Division.

Beyond research, I am passionate about mentorship and increasing diversity in science. As a graduate student and postdoctoral fellow, I helped found and build the Native American Research Internship and the University of Utah Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science, or SACNAS, chapter. Now at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, I serve as the co-mentor for the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, or AISES, chapter. My work in these areas has garnered much recognition, including 2017 Linton Poodry SACNAS/AAAS Leadership Institute Fellowship, the 2017 Leadership in Inclusive Excellence Trainee Award from the University of Utah and selection as a 2022 SACNAS national keynote speaker.

By serving on the ASBMB Nominating Committee, I hope to utilize this past research experience and organizational service to usher in a new era of leadership for ASBMB. The goals of my service will be to: 1) ensure increased accessibility to science, 2) select leadership that is prepared for the multidimensional challenges molecular biologists and biochemists face in the future and 3) strengthen the ASBMB position as a national advocate for scientific research.

Education and training

• B.A., Biology, Carroll College, 2007
• Ph.D., Biochemistry, University of Utah School of Medicine, 2014
• Postdoctoral training, Biochemistry, University of Utah School of Medicine, 2014–2018

Awards and honors

• Paul Shurtleff Hatch and Heidi Hatch Ford Scholar Award, University of Utah, 2016
• Linton–Poodry SACNAS/AAAS Leadership Institute Fellowship, 2017
• Leadership for Inclusive Excellence Award for a Trainee, University of Utah Office of Health Equity and Inclusion, 2017
• AWRP Winter Postdoctoral Fellowship, American Heart Association, 2017–2019
• Gilliam Fellows keynote speaker, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 2019
• Harry and Evelyn Steenbock Career Advancement Award, University of Wisconsin–Madison, 2019–2024
• Journal of Lipid Research Rising Star in Lipid Research Award, 2022
• Diversifying Diabetes Research Talent in Academia Award, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, 2022
• Freeman Hrabowski Scholars Program, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 2023
• Distinguished Role Model in Life Science, Northwestern University IBiS, 2023
• ASBMB Walter A. Shaw Young Investigator Award in Lipid Research, 2024

Experience

• Vice president, University of Utah SACNAS Chapter, 2015–2017
• Local conference committee member, SACNAS National Convention, 2016–2017
• Community, Cultural, and Academic Mentor, Native American Research Internship, 2016–2018
• National liaison, University of Utah SACNAS Chapter, 2017–2018
• Junior associate editor, Journal of Lipid Research, 2020–2023
• Co-mentor American Indian Science and Engineering Society Chapter, University of Wisconsin–Madison, 2020–present
• Member, ASBMB Inclusion, Diversity and Engagement Committee, 2021
• Early-career reviewer, Pathophysiology of Obesity and Metabolic Disease Study Section, National Institutes of Health, 2022
• Member, ASBMB Lipid Research Division Steering Committee, 2022–present
• Member, ASBMB Deuel Conference on Lipids board, 2022–present
• Member, National Native American/Indigenous Affairs Committee, SACNAS, 2023–present
• Reviewing editor, eLife, 2024–present