Kathy Ryan, Ph.D.

Chief, Research Regulatory Compliance Divsion, U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research

Dr. Kathy Ryan is Chief of the Research Regulatory Compliance Division at the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research.

Career path

Dr. Ryan was fortunate enough to be able to stay in San Antonio, which was the driving force behind most of her career decisions. She honestly never thought, while in graduate school, that she would spend her career working for the military, but an opportunity arose and she was open to the possibility.

She found that she really enjoyed performing research with a direct application to real-world problems. All of the jobs that she has had since finishing her training were the result of networking opportunities; the importance of networking cannot be overemphasized.

The keys to whatever success she has had are:

1. be open to opportunities
2. enjoy learning something new
3. work hard
4. have a positive “can do” attitude.

Education

• B.S., Trinity University, 1982
• Ph.D., University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 1989