Claire Simeone is a veterinarian, advocate for ocean health, and founder at Sea Change Health. She is a 2018 TED Fellow, the first ever veterinarian to be selected.[1][2]

Claire Simeone
Alma materUniversity of Maryland, College Park

Virginia–Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine

University of St Andrews
EmployerSea Change Health

Early life and education

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Simeone was inspired to study science by her father, Anthony Simeone, an environmentalist, as well as by David Attenborough and Sylvia Earle.[3] She received her Bachelor's degree in neurobiology at the University of Maryland, College Park in 2007.During her undergraduate studies, she completed coursework in Molecular Biology at the University of St Andrews.[4] She attended the Virginia–Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, graduating in 2011 with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree.[5] Simeone worked with the California condor program in San Diego studying treatments for lead toxicity.[6][7] She completed internships with the National Marine Mammal Foundation and SeaWorld San Diego and cared for the dolphins and sea lions at the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program.

Career

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In 2013 she joined The Marine Mammal Center as a conservation medicine veterinarian, where she worked jointly with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service. She has helped with several unusual mortality event responses and helped in the development of 'Marine Mammal Health M.A.P.', a collaborative effort to create a national marine mammal health data repository and visualization tool.[8][9][10][11] She also helped coordinate a program to provide training for international veterinarians to enhance surveillance efforts around the world. The International Veterinary In-Residence program looks to expand our understanding of how to care for unique species.[12]

Simeone was appointed Director of Kei Kai Ola (the Healing Seal), the conservation and education centre dedicated to the rehabilitation and conservation of endangered Hawaiian monk seals on Hawai'i island, in 2018.[13] In 2020 she left The Marine Mammal Center to start Sea Change Health to improve marine malla, human, and conservation health through clinical medicine and research. She is also scientific advisor for SR3, the Sealife Response, Rehab and Research collective, and is a research associate with Fundación Oceanographic in Valencia, Spain.[14]

She is interested in how improved understanding of animal diseases can lead to better health in humans.[15] This work includes understanding the impacts of human-animal interactions, such as in cases of sea lion bites in swimmers.[16] Alongside her work as a clinical veterinarian, Simeone continues to publish research about marine mammal health.[17][18][19][20] She is interested in novel therapies to improve care of marine mammals, with a particular focus on eye diseases.[21] Her work studying pain medications in dolphins was a winner in the 2015 Ocean 180 Contest, a video contest centred on effective communication of ocean science that reaches nearly 40,000 middle school students.[22]

In January 2018 it was announced that Simeone would become the first veterinarian to be chosen as a TED Fellow.[23] Her 2018 talk introduced the concept of zoognosis: the knowledge spread between humans and animals.[24][25][26] Her 2021 talk at TEDxCityUHongKong showed how innovative medical techniques hold keys for conservation.[27]

In October 2020 Simeone coordinated a team of veterinary and medical experts to perform the first cell transplant in a California sea lion brain to treat epilepsy.[28][29] Cronutt is a sea lion affected by domoic acid toxicosis living at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, California. The transplant technique was developed at the Baraban Laboratory at the University of California, San Francisco.[30]

Simeone is a frequent guest on podcasts, a seasoned speaker at conferences, and currently writing a book about the knowledge that marine mammals share with us.[31] [32] [33] [34]

References

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  1. ^ Burbank, Keith. "Bay Area scientist is first veterinarian to be chosen as TED fellow". KTVU. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  2. ^ Nolen, Scott. "First veterinarian chosen as TED fellow". www.avma.org. American Veterinary Medical Association. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  3. ^ "10 Questions for Claire Simeone - Marin Magazine - March 2018 - Marin County, California". www.marinmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  4. ^ Virginia Tech Advancement Division, University Relations. "From Saving seals to talking TED | Virginia Tech Magazine". www.vtmag.vt.edu. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  5. ^ Wright, Isobel. "Saving Our Ocean Friends: An Interview with Dr. Claire Simeone of the Marine Mammal Center". www.marinscienceseminar.com. Retrieved 2022-02-08.
  6. ^ "American Association of Zoo Veterinarians". www.avma.org. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
  7. ^ In The Know (2016-06-08), In The Know: Mammal Center - Dr. Claire Simeone, retrieved 2018-05-06
  8. ^ "Dr. Claire Simeone, DVM". SR3 Sealife Response, Rehabilitation, and Research improving the health of marine wildlife. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  9. ^ "The Marine Mammal Center". www.marinemammalcenter.org. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  10. ^ "First veterinary TED Fellow speaks to the plight of an ocean in trouble". www.veterinarypracticenews.com. March 2018. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  11. ^ "Marine Mammal Health Monitoring and Analysis Platform (M.A.P.) - Marine Mammal Commission". Marine Mammal Commission. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
  12. ^ Suzi. "Member Spotlight: Dr. Claire Simeone is First Veterinarian Selected As TED Fellow". www.kona-kohala.com. Archived from the original on 2018-05-07. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  13. ^ "Hawaiian monk seal hospital gets new director". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 2018-01-29. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  14. ^ "Who We Are". SR3 Sealife Response, Rehabilitation, and Research improving the health of marine wildlife. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  15. ^ FOX. "Bay Area scientist is first veterinarian to be chosen as TED fellow". KTVU. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  16. ^ Papenfuss, Mary (2018-01-12). "Fourth San Francisco Swimmer In A Month Attacked By Sea Lion". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
  17. ^ Phan, Tung Gia; Gulland, Frances; Simeone, Claire; Deng, Xutao; Delwart, Eric (2015-02-01). "Sesavirus: prototype of a new parvovirus genus in feces of a sea lion". Virus Genes. 50 (1): 134–136. doi:10.1007/s11262-014-1123-3. PMC 4478086. PMID 25272961.
  18. ^ Barcenas-De la Cruz, Daniela; DeRango, Eugene; Johnson, Shawn P.; Simeone, Claire A. (2017-10-23). "Evidence of anthropogenic trauma in marine mammals stranded along the central California coast, 2003-2015". Marine Mammal Science. 34 (2): 330–346. doi:10.1111/mms.12457. ISSN 0824-0469.
  19. ^ Simeone, Claire A.; Gulland, Frances M. D.; Norris, Tenaya; Rowles, Teresa K. (2015-11-18). "A Systematic Review of Changes in Marine Mammal Health in North America, 1972-2012: The Need for a Novel Integrated Approach". PLOS ONE. 10 (11): e0142105. Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1042105S. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0142105. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 4651562. PMID 26579715.
  20. ^ "Marine Mammal Physiology: Requisites for Ocean Living". CRC Press. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
  21. ^ Simeone, Claire A.; Colitz, Carmen M. H.; Colegrove, Kathleen M.; Field, Cara L.; Rios, Carlos; Chandler, Heather L.; Johnson, Shawn P. (2016-12-01). "Subconjunctival antimicrobial poloxamer gel for treatment of corneal ulceration in stranded California sea lions (Zalophus californianus)". Veterinary Ophthalmology. 20 (5): 441–449. doi:10.1111/vop.12447. ISSN 1463-5216. PMID 27905668. S2CID 30570257.
  22. ^ Space Coast Daily (2015-03-24). "Ocean 180 Video Challenge Contest Winners Announced". Retrieved 2022-02-08.
  23. ^ KTVU (2018-01-14), Dr. Claire Simeone, first veterinarian to be chosen as TED fellow, retrieved 2018-05-06
  24. ^ "Into the fray, undaunted: Notes from TED Fellows Session 2 at TED2018". TED. 2018-04-10. Retrieved 2022-02-08.
  25. ^ "First TED Veterinarian Celebrated for Advancing 'Zoognosis'". DVM. 2018-05-10. Retrieved 2022-02-08.
  26. ^ "Zoognosis: spread the word - Ocean.org". Ocean.org. 2018-04-26. Archived from the original on 2018-05-09. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
  27. ^ "How Medicine Holds Keys for Conservation". TED. 2021-06-12. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  28. ^ Richtel, Matt (2020-10-08). "Brain Surgery for a 'Sweet Boy': Saving Cronutt the Sea Lion". The New York Times. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  29. ^ Mullin, Emily (2022-01-05). "Pig brain cells may have cured a sea lion's epilepsy—are humans next?". National Geographic. Archived from the original on January 5, 2022. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  30. ^ Casalia, Mariana (2021-04-07). "Interneuron Origins in the Embryonic Porcine Medial Ganglionic Eminence" (PDF). The Journal of Neuroscience. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  31. ^ Speak Up for Blue, SUFB 1069: How Sea Health And Human Health Are Intertwined, retrieved 2022-02-06
  32. ^ Marine Mammal Science, MMS 47: Being A Marine Mammal Vet And One Health, retrieved 2022-02-06
  33. ^ Aquadocs (2021-04-27), 37. The Ripple Effect of Conservation, retrieved 2022-02-06
  34. ^ FM, Player, Ep 6: 2018 TED Fellow, Dr. Claire Simeone Talks About Being a Marine Mammal Veterinarian, retrieved 2018-05-06