Veterinary college alumna, Melinda Cep, earns prestigious science fellowship
Dr. Melinda Cep, of Cordova, Md., a member of the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech's Class of 2009, has been named one of two 2009-2010 American Veterinary Medical Association Congressional Science Fellows.
As part of this prestigious award, Cep, who completed the veterinary college’s public and corporate veterinary medicine track, will spend a year in Washington D.C. serving as a scientific resource for members of the federal government.
According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, the fellowships are intended to help veterinarians gain a better understanding of the governmental process, gain insight into the future of science and the veterinary profession, and assist in creating the legislation and regulations that affect the nation and the profession.
“We are very proud of Dr. Cep’s fellowship,” said Dr. Gerhardt Schurig, dean of the veterinary college. “Over the course of her education, she has consistently proven herself to be an advocate for the importance of veterinary medicine in public health and this award is testimony to her hard work.”
Schurig also noted the importance of the college’s Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine in steering Cep and other students into careers in public, government, and corporate service. The center serves as the leading national and international resource for students and graduates interested in pursuing this important, and underserved, area of the profession.
Cep’s fellowship will begin in August 2009 and will run until August of the following year.
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