Dr. Dervla Connaughton

Dr. Connaughton is a clinician-researcher and nephrologist with extensive expertise and leadership in renal genetics in both pediatric and adult patients. She is the clinical lead of the Ontario Health, Provincial Genetics Program – Renal Genetics Expert Group and clinical lead of the Renal Genetics Program in Southwestern Ontario.

Dr. Connaughton is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Western University with a cross appointment in the Department of Pediatrics and Department of Biochemistry at Western University. As the Eugen Drewlo Chair for Kidney Research and Innovation at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Dr. Connaughton’s research program focuses on the role genetics plays in both chronic and end stage kidney disease. Her research laboratory is actively studying the genetic basis and epidemiology of all forms of chronic kidney disease in both adult and pediatric populations. Specifically, her focus is to establish and characterize the molecular etiology of kidney disease using high throughput sequencing techniques including gene panel sequencing, whole exome and genome sequencing.

She received her medical degree from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Her specialist training in nephrology and internal medicine was awarded by the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland. Dr. Connaughton completed a transplant fellowship at the National Centre for Nephrology and Transplantation at Beaumont Hospital in Ireland. She was awarded her PhD degree from Trinity College Dublin Ireland in renal genetics and has a MSc in Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She went on to do a research fellowship in renal genetics at Harvard Medical School.

Another area of interest for Dr. Connaughton is kidney transplantation. As the Director of Living Kidney Donation at London Health Sciences Centre, she evaluates individuals who wish to donate a kidney through the living kidney donation program.