Matthew Simonson, MS
T35 Research Fellow
Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology
About
Mr. Simonson is a second-year medical student. He received a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry from Monmouth College. His mentor is Sirimon Reutrakul, MD and his research project, “Metabolomics of Diabetic Retinopathy,” identified the following outcomes: having obstructive sleep apnea was significantly associated with having diabetic retinopathy (DR); Those with DR had significantly lower melatonin/ melatonin metabolites levels than those without DR; and Long sleep, but not short sleep, was significantly associated with DR.
Upon completing his fellowship, Mr. Simonson presented his research at the November 2023 UIC College of Medicine Research Day. He will present his work at the ENDO 2024 Conference this June and recently published the following manuscript:
Simonson M, Li Y, Zhu B, McAnany JJ, Chirakalwasan N, Sutabutr Vajaranant T, Hanlon EC, Pannain S, Anothaisintawee T, Reutrakul S. Multidimensional sleep health and diabetic retinopathy: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep Med Rev. 2024 Apr;74:101891. doi: 10.1016/j.smrv.2023.101891. Epub 2023 Dec 12. PMID: 38118339; PMCID: PMC10963161.
He is currently a 2024 UIC James Scholar, an Independent Study Program where he continues working alongside his mentor. He has several manuscripts in development.