Associate Professor Catherine Quinlan is a clinician-scientist with expertise spanning genetic kidney disease, childhood hypertension, acute kidney injury (AKI), neonatal kidney replacement therapy, and cystic fibrosis-related kidney disease. She is a Team Leader in the Kidney Regeneration group at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), Consultant Paediatric Nephrologist and Clinical Lead in Kidney Genetics at The Royal Children’s Hospital, and Deputy Head of the Department of Paediatrics and Academic Lead for Graduate Research at the University of Melbourne.

Associate Professor Quinlan also leads the MCRI Kidney Flagship, a strategic and collaborative program of clinicians and researchers designed to tackle the currently unanswerable questions around childhood kidney disease. In this role she drives a strategic, collaborative program integrating genomics, health economics, artificial intelligence, and clinical research to improve early disease detection and long-term outcomes for children with kidney disease. She has played a pivotal role in mainstreaming genomic medicine, ensuring equitable access to diagnostic sequencing, and leading education initiatives that equip nephrologists with the tools to integrate genomics into clinical care.

Associate Professor Quinlan obtained her undergraduate medical degree from the National University of Ireland (MB BCh BAO) and postgraduate qualifications in medical education, medical research, and business from Queens University Belfast (MScMedEd), University College London (MDRes), and Monash University (ExecMBA). She is dual-trained in paediatrics and nephrology, a member of the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland (MRCPI), and a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP), the American Society of Nephrology (FASN), and the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (FRCPI).

Her research focuses on early disease detection, integrating artificial intelligence into nephrology, and developing patient-centred approaches to kidney care. She has led nationwide hypertension initiatives, including the first national paediatric blood pressure management guidelines, and pioneered school-based blood pressure screening programs to improve cardiovascular health in children. In neonatal nephrology, she has advanced infant dialysis protocols, expanding access to life-saving kidney replacement therapy in the NICU.

A passionate educator, A/Prof Quinlan has developed digital learning platforms for kidney genetics, served as Director of Education for KidGen, and continues to mentor medical students, trainees, and PhD candidates across multiple institutions. She is internationally recognised for her work at the intersection of nephrology, genomics, education, and implementation science, with over $14 million in competitive research funding and more than 80 peer-reviewed publications.