Paul Simon

Dr. Paul Simon is the Chief Science Officer and Director of the Division of Assessment, Planning, and Quality at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. He is board certified in pediatrics and preventive medicine. He completed a two-year fellowship in field epidemiology with the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS Program) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1992 and then served as a Medical Epidemiologist in CDC's Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, assigned to the Los Angeles County HIV Epidemiology Program from 1992-1998. He joined the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health in 1998 as the Director of the Office of Health Assessment and Epidemiology and then served as the Director of the Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention. In his current position, he oversees the Department’s Office of Health Assessment and Epidemiology, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Development, and Office of Quality Improvement and Accreditation.  In his role as Chief Science Officer, he leads the Department’s efforts to integrate science into public health practice.  He and his staff support efforts across the Department in the areas of evidence-based practice, program evaluation, public health surveillance, population health assessment, economic evaluation, health impact assessment, and other special studies.

Education

  • MPH, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
  • MD, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
  • BA, University of California, Los Angeles, CA

Related Tags

Areas of Interest

  • Population health assessment
  • Public health surveillance
  • Child and adult obesity epidemics
  • Community influences on nutrition and physical activity
  • Tobacco prevention and control interventions
  • Community health promotion

Selected Courses

  • Epi 412: Public Health Surveillance

Selected Publications

  • Simon PA, Chiang C, Lightstone A, Shih M.  Public opinion on nutrition-related policies to combat child obesity, Los Angeles County, 2011.  Prev Chron Dis 2014;11:140005.
  • Shih M, Dumke KA, Goran MI, Simon PA.  The association between community-level economic hardship and childhood obesity prevalence in Los Angeles County.  Ped Obesity 2013;8:411-417.
  • Simon PA, Lightstone AS, Baldwin S, Kuo T, Shih M, Fielding JE.  Recent declines in sugar-sweetened beverage consumption among children in Los Angeles County.  Prev Chron Dis 2013;10:130049.  http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd10.130049.
  • Weber MD, Simon PA, Messex M, Aragon L, Kuo T, Fielding JE.  A framework for mobilizing communities to advance local tobacco control policy: the Los Angeles County experience.  Am J Public Health 2012;102:785-788.
  • Simon PA, Fielding JE.  Establishing best practices for changing the built environment to promote physical activity.  Am J Prev Med 2009;37(6S2):S448-449.
  • Simon P, Gonzalez E, Ginsburg D, Abrams J, Fielding J.  Physical activity promotion: a local and state health department perspective.  Prev Med 2009;49:297-298.
  • Simon PA, Kwan D, Angelescu A, Shih M, Fielding JE.  Proximity of fast food restaurants to schools: do neighborhood income and type of school matter? Prev Med 2008; 47(3): 284-8.
  • Shih M, Simon PA. Health-related quality of life among adults with serious psychological distress and chronic medical conditions. Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation. 2008; 17(4): 521-8.
  • Simon PA, Fielding JE. Public health and business: a partnership that makes cents. Health affairs (Project Hope). 2006; 25(4): 1029-39.
  • Visit PubMed