Diane Simeone, MD, is director of the Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health, where she sets the strategic and intellectual direction for the center’s research programs, administrative structure, and multidisciplinary clinical care.
She serves as principal investigator for the cancer center’s support grant from the National Cancer Institute and oversees its scientific, education, and clinical programs. An internationally recognized pancreatic surgeon and researcher, Dr. Simeone has devoted her career to treating pancreatic cancer and pancreatic cystic tumors and to building a continuum between scientific discovery and new approaches for cancer detection and treatment.
Before joining UC San Diego, she directed the Pancreatic Cancer Center and served as associate director of translational research at the Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone Health. She is principal investigator and lead of Precision Promise, a national clinical trials consortium advancing next-generation trials for people with pancreatic cancer, and founder of the Pancreatic Cancer Early Detection (PRECEDE) Consortium. Dr. Simeone is a past chair of the scientific and medical advisory board of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and a past president of the American Pancreatic Association and the Society of University Surgeons.
An elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, she serves on the National Cancer Institute Pancreatic Cancer Task Force and the board of directors of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. She has published more than 230 studies in leading peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Simeone earned her medical degree from Duke University and completed her residency at the University of Michigan.