Dwayne Simmons, PhD
Cornelia Marschall Smith Endowed Professor Senior Director of STEM Initiatives
Education:
BS, Pepperdine University
Ph.D., Harvard University
Major area of research:
Aging brain function related to hearing and balance, neurodegeneration, and neuro-immune responses at Baylor University.
Biography:
Dwayne D. Simmons is a graduate of Pepperdine University (BS) and Harvard University (PhD). He is currently the Cornelia Marschall Smith Endowed Professor in the Department of Biology and the Senior Director of STEM Initiatives in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Office of Engaged Learning. He also serves as Director of the BTRUE (Baylor Transdisciplinary Research Undergraduate Experience). He was Chair of the Department of Biology from 2016 - 2023. He holds an appointment as a Visiting Professor in the School of Bioscience at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom. In 2015-16, he was a Fulbright Scholar to the United Kingdom where he conducted research at the University of Sheffield on the role of calcium buffering in auditory function and deafness. He received a Career Development Award (2014-17) from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Previously at UCLA, he was a professor in the Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, directed diversity and education programs for the UCLA Brain Research Institute, and directed of several NIH-funded undergraduate research programs, whose goals are to increase the number of students from diverse backgrounds who enter biomedical research careers. He has taught courses in neuroscience, physiology and cell biology. His research primarily focuses on the cellular and molecular mechanisms associated with hearing loss, the development of synaptic connections in the brain and inner ear, and the role of the immune system in the inner ear and brain. In addition to Baylor and UCLA, he has been on the faculties at Pepperdine University and Washington University School of Medicine. He has served on the Board at Oklahoma Christian University. He serves on the Board of Scientific Counselors at the National Institute of Deafness and Communication Disorders. He also serves on the Board at Mission Waco and is currently an Elder/Shepherd at his church. His hobbies include Biblical studies, hiking, biking, and history. He and his wife, D’Nisa, have a son and daughter.