Simone is a UNSW Scientia Associate Professor within the Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health. Her area of research is cognitive disorders with a focus on mental health and ageing. Simone has a PhD in Psychology (Ludwig Maximilian University Munich) and worked previously in the field of depression and cognitive function at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich until 2008 before she moved to Australia. From 2008-2014 she worked as a research fellow at the Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, where she managed a large longitudinal study (Sydney Memory and Ageing Study) combining neuropsychological, medical, environmental and genetic components to identify risk factors for cognitive decline.

Her current research focuses mainly on late-life depression, cognitive impairment including dementia, everyday activities in old age and mental health in people with intellectual disability. Through her research, Simone aims to improve health and mental health outcomes for people with cognitive and mental disorders. She uses a range of methods, including interrogation of large linked datasets, development of diagnostic tools and analysis of factors associated with depression in late-life and cognitive decline. Simone has published over 100 peer-reviewed publications with a total of >6500 citations.