Dr. Dervla Connaughton
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
MD, Ireland
Phone: 519.663.3012
Fax: 519.663.3349
E-mail: Dervla.Connaughton@lhsc.on.ca
Biosketch and Research Interests
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, her research focus is on understanding 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.
Dr. Connaughton, as the clinical lead of the renal genetics service of Southwestern Ontario, runs a renal genetics clinic for both adult and pediatric patients. She has extensive experience and training in the assessment of patients with rare and inherited kidney diseases as well as the application and interpretation of all genetic and genomic analysis techniques. Her team provides comprehensive genetic and genomic evaluation for patients with suspected rare and inherited kidney disease.
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 (https://www.lhsc.on.ca/multi-organ-transplant-program/living-kidney-donation). She also cares for patients that require hemodialysis and patients undergoing kidney transplant.
