2023 Winner: Women in Innovation (Research)
Winner: Kathryn Birnie, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Anesthesiology,
Perioperative and Pain Medicine, University of Calgary
Presenter: Presenter: Amber Hall – Alberta Women Entrepreneurs
Initiative: The new Pediatric Pain Management national health standard
Dr. Kathryn (Katie) Birnie is a Clinical Psychologist and Assistant Professor in the Departments of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine, and 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 a BA(Hons) in Psychology at the University of Calgary (2007) and a PhD in Clinical Psychology at Dalhousie University (2016). She has trained and worked at work at hospitals across Canada in Halifax, Toronto, and Calgary.
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. She is the recipient of early career awards from the International Association for the Study of Pain’s (IASP) Pain in Childhood Special Interest Group (2023) and the Canadian Pain Society (2022). She was also the recipient of the 2020 Pain Awareness Award from the Canadian Pain Society and was selected as a 2020-2021 MAYDAY Fellow, a prestigious fellowship focused on communications and advocacy for improved pain care.
