Dr. Kathryn (Katie) Birnie is a Clinical Psychologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine, and the Department of Community Health Sciences, at the University of Calgary where she leads the Partnering For Pain program. She is the Associate Scientific Director of Solutions for Kids in Pain (SKIP), a national knowledge mobilization network working to improve evidence-based children’s pain management through coordination and collaboration.
Dr. Birnie completed her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Dalhousie University in 2016, including a predoctoral residency in Pediatric Health Psychology at the IWK Health Centre. She completed a CIHR-funded postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Toronto and The Hospital for Sick Children. Dr. Birnie also spent time as a clinical research postdoctoral fellow and clinical psychologist at the University Health Network, including with the Transitional Pain Service at Toronto General Hospital and the Interventional Pain Program at Toronto Western Hospital. Dr. Birnie joined Alberta Children’s Hospital as a medical psychologist in 2018, where she continues to provide clinical care through the Vi Riddell Children’s Pain and Rehabilitation Program.
Dr. Birnie is a recognized leader in pain research and patient partnership, for which she has received a number of national and international accolades. She was the recipient of the 2022 Early Career Award and the 2020 Pain Awareness Award from the Canadian Pain Society. She was also selected as a 2020-2021 MAYDAY Fellow, a prestigious fellowship focused on communications and advocacy for improved pain care. Previous highlighted awards include the Dr. John T. Goodman Award for Trainee Research in Pediatric Pain, the Brain Star Award from the CIHR Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction, and a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship.
Dr. Birnie has authored or co-authored more than 120 peer-reviewed publications. Her research integrates patient and family partnership and multi-stakeholder engagement to improve the prevention, assessment, and management of pain experienced by children and their families. Dr. Birnie’s work spans the knowledge-to-action continuum including creating new knowledge, synthesizing existing evidence, and mobilizing knowledge to inform health practice and policy. Her work has contributed to recommendations by the World Health Organization for reducing vaccination pain, and international practice standards for pain assessment and management in children diagnosed with cancer. She is chair of the national working group developing a standard in pediatric pain management with the Health Standards Organization. Dr. Birnie’s research has been featured in media outlets including CBC News, CTV News, Radio Canada International and The Globe and Mail. She holds research funds from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Canadian Pain Society, the Ontario SPOR SUPPORT Unit, and the Chronic Pain Network. Dr. Birnie is a strong advocate for the partnership of patients and families in health research, health care delivery, and health systems design.
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