Kali Cyrus, MD, MPH, a 2017 graduate of the Yale Psychiatry Residency Program, has been selected as the 2018-19 American Psychiatric Association Jeanne Spurlock Congressional Fellow.
The 10-month fellowship provides an opportunity for a psychiatry resident or early career psychiatrist with significant interest in child and/or minority mental health advocacy to work in a congressional office as a health legislative assistant. Cyrus is based in Washington, D.C., and is working in the office of Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Conn.
She is being introduced to the structure and development of federal and congressional health policy focused on mental health issues that effect minorities and underserved populations, including children.
In a statement on the APA website, Cyrus said, "As a Jeanne Spurlock Congressional Fellow, I am looking forward to learning about the legislative process and how tough compromises are made that lead to downstream disparities I have seen in the clinic. I'm hoping to then be in a better position to address disparities head-on as a psychiatrist."
The fellowship runs through May 2019.