Dr. Simms teaches at Dalhousie University, Faculty of Health, School of Health Administrations. He has lived and worked in many countries including the Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Senegal, Tanzania, Zambia, Kenya, South Africa, Madagascar, and Peru He has studied at Dalhousie University, the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Sussex. He has contributed to international health on various boards including the International Journal of Clinical Practice. He has two teenage children and lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.