Simon Hughes trained at The United Dental and Medical Schools of Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals (U.M.D.S.), where he also gained an Anatomy BSc with First Class Honours. His specialist training in Clinical Oncology included posts at The Middlesex Hospital, University College Hospital London, and Guy’s & St. Thomas’ Hospitals. He also spent over 2-years working as a Research Fellow in the Imaging Sciences Laboratories (King’s College London) and the Centre for Medical Image Computing (University College London), developing novel radiotherapy techniques for treating mobile tumours

Simon continues to have an active role in Research and Development. He led the Clinical Oncology and Radiotherapy Research and Development Team at Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Hospitals for 5 years and was also Radiotherapy Clinical Trials Lead for the South East London Cancer Network during this period. His research interests include tumour motion, radiotherapy dose escalation, integration of functional imaging into radiotherapy planning, and the combination of novel agents with radiotherapy. He is the UK lead for the ENZARAD and DASL-HiCaP Studies and sits on several Trial Management Groups and Data-Monitoring Committees.

Simon’s other main interest is medical education. He is the Education and Training Lead for Cancer at King's Health Partners; the Director and founder of Guy's Cancer Academy; and was previously the Associate Clinical Dean at GKT Medical School, King’s College London. He also sits on the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s International Education Steering committee.

Nationally, Simon is a trustee for the British Uro-oncology Group. He was the co-opted oncologist for the British Association of Urological Surgeons: Oncology Section Committee from 2013-2017; is a past President of the Oncology Section of the Royal Society of Medicine (2011-2012), and served on the council for over 10 years.