After time spent in mixed veterinary practice in the UK, Simon undertook his PhD in equine laminitis at the Royal Veterinary College, London. He continued with research in cardiovascular pharmacology and inflammation at the RVC for a further 4 years and then spent two years as a research scientist at the Dorothy Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute at the Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio.

He then returned to the Royal Veterinary College as a lecturer in 2004 and moved to the University of Melbourne in 2007. He is currently Professor of Veterinary Biosciences and Head of the Department of Veterinary Biociences at the Melbourne Veterinary School. Simon has published more than 100 papers in peer-reviewed journals and his main research areas are endocrinology, equine laminitis, sepsis and cardiovascular pharmacology. He is a member of national and international expert panels on clinical equine endocrinology, has served as Associate Editor of the journals Domestic Animal Endocrinology and The Veterinary Journal, and has been an Associate Editor of the Australian Veterinary Journal for the past 10 years.