Dr. Simone Valle de Souza is a horticulture economist at the MSU Department of horticulture, with expertise in controlled environment agriculture (CEA). Her work includes investigating the economic viability and sustainability of CEA systems, focusing on the profitability of production systems, the cost-effectiveness of technologies, and the economic benefits of sustainable agriculture. Additionally, she examines consumer attitudes towards produce attributes and their willingness to pay for attributes that can be enhanced by CEA systems. Simone's work has highlighted the potential of CEA for strengthening regionalized supply chains through sustainable food production.