Dr. Dwayne Simmons

serves as the Cornelia Marschall Smith Endowed Professor and chair of the Department of Biology in Baylor University’s College of Arts and Sciences. A graduate of Pepperdine University (BS) and Harvard University (PhD), he recently was a Fulbright Scholar to the United Kingdom, where he conducted research at the University of Sheffield.

Dr. Simmons’s area of expertise is in the cellular and molecular mechanisms associated with hearing loss in the brain and inner ear. A recent research effort focused on the role of calcium buffering in auditory function and deafness.

Prior to coming to Baylor, he was a professor in the Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology at UCLA and director of several NIH-funded undergraduate research programs
that sought to increase the number of students from diverse backgrounds entering biomedical research careers. He also directed diversity and education programs for the UCLA Brain Research Institute and served on the faculties at Pepperdine University and Washington University School of Medicine.