In 2025, Maryland professor Anne Simon pledged $16 million for endowed professorships and scholarships at her university

Seven years before she announced her decision to gift millions of dollars to the University of Maryland, a gap between federal research grants had put Professor Anne Simon in a position of losing her laboratory. At the time, the virologist was en route to develop a treatment for a disease that threatened citrus trees, and help from her department was what kept the laboratory going. In November 2025, with her own experience of the funding crisis behind her, she decided to take on a commitment that would help other researchers to avoid the same problem.According to the University of Maryland’s College, Simon is donating $15 million to support two endowed professorships, postdoctoral fellowships, and graduate fellowships. The professorships will focus on virology and RNA or plant biology. The remaining $1 million in hand would support the Sondra Simon Memorial Maryland Promise Scholarship, named after her mother, who was a teacher’s aide in Los Angeles public schools for more than 30 years. The commitment also forms part of the university’s Forward: The University of Maryland Campaign for the Fearless, and Simon’s contribution brought the campaign’s total to $943 million as it officially launched.Speaking on her decision, she said “I want to pay it back,” she said in the university’s announcement, adding, “I owe it all to my department.” She also emphasised that her objective was to retain established researchers and, at the same time, bring in new ones, particularly junior faculty members.Simon co-founded a company working on citrus greening Simon’s work outside of the University gave her the financial means to be able to undertake a huge commitment. She co-founded Silvec Biologics, a company committed to developing a way to combat citrus greening disease, alongside her brother, Rafael Simon. Citrus greening is a bacterial infection that has caused extensive damage to citrus production in Florida. The disease was first documented in the United States back in 2005, and more than 90% of oranges and grapefruits have been decimated since. Moreover, it had also been making its way across parts of Asia, the Americas, and AfricaThe approach to counter this disease that existed until that point involved injecting trees with medical-grade antibiotics. At Silvec, the methodology took a different approach; instead of relying on the existing methods, it used an RNA virus to deliver antimicrobial peptides into the trees through a vaccination approach. The method has so far proved effective under laboratory testing, while field testing was in motion when the university published its November 2025 account.Silvec’s technology isn’t only defined by the method it offers but also has applications that go beyond citrus. The technology could also be applied to row crops such as wheat and soybeans, potentially reducing the need for fungicides and pesticides. Simon joined the University of Maryland in 2000 and subsequently created the department’s virology programme, which she has led, according to department chair Kevin S. McIver. Her work portfolio includes research in RNA biology and collaborations with scientists at the National Institutes of Health, and an inter-institutional graduate programme to attract students to the field.From laboratory science to The X-FilesSimon’s scientific work has also extended into television. She advised The X-Files, the Fox science-fiction series about FBI agents investigating paranormal cases, helping its writers keep scientific details credible even when the plots involved fictional organisms and extraordinary events.A 2016 University account says Simon began advising the creator of the show, Chris Carter, during the programme’s original run. Their connection had developed after Simon watched the show’s first episode in 1993 and recognised Carter’s name through a family connection.Carter sought her advice on how scientists might handle an unfamiliar bacterial strain, for which Simon suggested growing additional samples and using laboratory equipment suited to study the organism, which involved the use of an Erlenmeyer flask and a scanning electron microscope. In January 2016, when the series returned on screen for a six-episode revival, she again provided scientific advice, and it was recognised in the form of her first Hollywood story credit for a plot developed for the final episode. Simon wrote The Real Science Behind ‘The X-Files’, published in 1999, and used the programme as an opportunity to make science fiction stories more credible.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.