Melissa Simon is the George H. Gardner Professor of Clinical Gynecology, Vice Chair of Clinical Research in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, a Northwestern Medicine physician,  and a full tenured professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Preventive Medicine and Medical Social Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.  She is also the Founder and Director of the Chicago Cancer Health Equity Collaborative, and co-program leader for cancer control and survivorship at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center. She is an expert in implementation science, women’s health across the lifespan, minority health, community engagement and health equity.  She leads a diverse portfolio of research partnered with multiple sectors that directly impacts local, state, and national level thought and policy regarding inclusion and health equity. Her research creates transdisciplinary partnerships focused on improving vulnerable populations’ health and their interface with the health care system. Melissa also has a significant workforce development portfolio and supports a large group of mentees that span from high school-aged students through junior faculty.  She created the first health care workforce development Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), “Career 911: Your Future Job in Medicine and Healthcare.” She has been recognized with numerous leadership and mentoring awards.  Her work has been recognized by many national accolades.  She is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine’s Roundtable on the Promotion of Health Equity and Elimination of Health Disparities and the NAM Care, Culture and Decision Making Innovation Collaborative. She also is a recently appointed member of the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), and she serves as the chair of the National Institutes of Health standing study section, Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health. Raised in Detroit, Michigan, she completed her bachelor’s degree at the University of Chicago, her master’s degree in public health at the University of Illinois at Chicago, her medical degree at Rush Medical College, her residency at Yale University, and her fellowship in family planning at Northwestern University.