Simon is a Professor in Cancer Studies at the School of Medicine, Cardiff University. The research conducted in his laboratory spans basic research into the mechanisms of DNA damage and repair, through the development and application of genomic tools. In doing so he has developed novel methods and technologies with considerable potential commercial value, and has made significant contributions to determining how DNA repair functions in the genome for over two decades. Longstanding support from the MRC has underpinned his research; receiving an MRC Career Development Award [CDA 2000-2005], an MRC Career Establishment Grant [CEG 2005-2009], and an MRC Project grant [2012-2015]. He gained a first-class honours degree in Genetics from Swansea University, UK in 1991, and a PhD in Molecular Biology from Swansea in 1995. His postdoctoral research as a Fulbright Scholar was with Professor Errol Friedberg at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, USA. He established his research group on returning to the UK as an MRC Fellow, initially at Swansea in 2000, and subsequently, at Cardiff University during 2002. He then travelled to the Southwestern Medical Center during 2002/3 as part of his MRC fellowship to further develop collaboration with the Center for Biomedical Inventions there. Recently, he co-founded a startup company called Broken String Biosciences. This company has developed a novel next generation-based sequencing tool for mapping DNA breaks in the genome. The company aims to unlock the potential of future therapies.