AVMA Congressional Science Fellows chosen

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Dr. Kane
Dr. Terry Ryan Kane
Dr. Simmons
Dr. Kathryn A. Simmons

Drs. Terry Ryan Kane and Kathryn A. Simmons have been selected as the 2010-2011 AVMA Congressional Science Fellows.

AVMA fellows provide science-based knowledge and information to the public policymaking process. Additionally, the fellowship program offers veterinarians a wide variety of opportunities to learn how federal public policy is made and influence outcomes.

Beginning at the end of August, fellows spend a year in Washington, D.C., and receive a stipend, plus reimbursable expenses.

Soon after graduating from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in 1980, Dr. Ryan Kane founded The Cat Practice, which, according to Ryan Kane, was Michigan's first feline-only veterinary practice.

As a member of an AVMA Veterinary Medical Assistance Team, Dr. Ryan Kane participated in numerous deployments and spent a month in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.

Dr. Ryan Kane sold The Cat Practice in 2002, moved to Ohio, and became more active in international veterinary work by volunteering in Mexico and Nicaragua to provide veterinary care to remote areas, assist conservation programs, and train local veterinary personnel.

"Being a Congressional Science Fellow combines my passions: medicine and science with politics and public policy," Dr. Ryan Kane said. "I hope to serve our One Health Initiative in as many ways as I possibly can."

Dr. Simmons graduated with the first class at Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in 1984. She went on to practice mixed animal medicine in Martinsburg, W.Va., for a short time before starting a 25-year companion animal medicine career at the now VCA-owned Herndon-Reston Animal Hospital in Herndon, Va.

In addition to her AVMA membership, Dr. Simmons belongs to the American Animal Hospital Association, D.C. Academy of Veterinary Medicine, and other associations. In her spare time, Dr. Simmons manages her family's beef cattle farm.

For more information about the AVMA Congressional Science and Executive Branch Fellowship and the requirements, or to apply, contact Dotty Gray, associate director of the AVMA Governmental Relations Division, at (800) 321-1473, Ext. 3209, or at Fellowship. The application deadline for the 2011-2012 fellowship is Feb. 11, 2011.