Research
Dr. Simmons’s research focuses on advancing women’s health equity, preventing chronic disease, and translating evidence-based interventions into real-world settings. Her work centers women and communities that have been historically marginalized, ensuring that advances in science directly improve people’s daily lives. She blends clinical training, coaching expertise, and rigorous academic research to develop and test interventions that improve health outcomes, mood, weight management, stress, and personalized care.
Links:
Perinatal Origins of Disparities Center
HEAL Lab: Promoting health equity across the lifespan
ACEs Champion Spotlight
Impact by the Numbers
More than 100 peer-reviewed publications, abstracts, and book chapters
Over $16 million in competitive research funding
300+ health coaches trained for the Veterans Health Administration
20 years of experience as a women’s health scholar
Supported by organizations including NIH, VHA, and the California Department of Health and Human Services
Selected Research Highlights
Whole Health Coaching for Chronic Disease Prevention
A multi-site intervention improving mood, weight management, and self-efficacy among women veterans through personalized coaching and behavior-change strategies.
Digital Health Tools for Personalized Care
A pilot study examining remote coaching and digital symptom tracking to enhance chronic disease prevention for women at elevated risk.
Risk Screening in Marginalized Communities
A collaborative project with federally qualified health centers to improve early detection of metabolic and behavioral health risk factors.
Key Research Areas
Women’s Health Equity
Dr. Simmons investigates the systemic barriers that prevent women—especially those from marginalized communities—from receiving timely, accurate, and compassionate care. Her work explores diagnostic delays, chronic disease disparities, structural inequities, and gaps in risk screening that disproportionately affect women’s health and quality of life.
Chronic Disease Risk & Prevention
A central focus of her research is understanding and reducing chronic disease risk among women. She examines biological, behavioral, social, and environmental factors that contribute to conditions such as autoimmune disease, metabolic dysfunction, and mood disorders, and develops interventions to prevent or mitigate these risks.
Integrative Health Coaching & Behavior Change
As a trained therapist and master health coach, Dr. Simmons studies how coaching can be used to support sustainable health behavior change. She has trained more than 300 health coaches for the Veterans Health Administration, co-designed national coaching curricula, and led research on interventions that improve mood, self-regulation, and weight-related outcomes.
Digital and In-Person Intervention Design
Her research includes designing and testing hybrid interventions that combine in-person care, telehealth, digital symptom tracking, and personalized coaching. These programs improve accessibility and help tailor care to the needs of individual women, particularly those managing chronic symptoms or seeking guidance in complex healthcare systems.
Community Partnerships & Real-World Impact
Dr. Simmons’s work is deeply rooted in community collaboration. She partners with federally qualified health centers, the Veterans Health Administration, and public health agencies to improve risk screening, increase care access, and ensure that her research findings translate into tools and strategies that directly benefit real people.
Current and Future Work
Dr. Simmons is currently expanding her work on digital coaching, diagnostic delays, and chronic disease risk in women. Her ongoing projects explore new models of personalized care, intervention design, and health behavior change. She is also focused on bringing her research directly to women through accessible tools and resources, including those featured in her upcoming book.