Medical resident and alumna Caitlyn Vlasschaert named STAT Wunderkind | Faculty of Health Sciences

A Queen’s University alumna and current medical resident finds herself in rare company.

Caitlyn Vlasschaert, an Internal Medicine resident in the Department of Medicine, is the only Canadian researcher – and first ever from Queen’s – to be named a STAT Wunderkind.

STAT, a health and medicine news site based in the U.S., annually celebrates “the unheralded heroes of science and medicine” and “next generation of scientific superstars.” From hundreds of applicants, their awardees showcase “the most impressive doctors and researchers on the cusp of launching their careers.”

Vlasschaert’s recognition is driven by her research on clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential, or CHIP.  She led research that discovered that these mutations, present in about 10 per cent of the population, can increase risk of certain diseases, including acute kidney injury. STAT says the discovery “could help scientists figure out how to stop or slow organ damage, and expedite the application of powerful gene therapies in kidney disease.”

Vlasschaert completed her Doctor of Philosophy in Translational Medicine (Clinician Investigator Program) from Queen’s University during a break from her Internal Medicine residency. Her research interests include Nephrology, genetics, and clonal hematopoiesis. We talked to her about her Wunderkind honour and future research goals:

Q: What health problem is your research trying to solve?

A: My research focuses on CHIP, which is a condition that can occur with age where a mutation in blood cells causes them to become dysfunctional and inflammatory. CHIP was first described less than 10 years ago. A number of people have done research looking at how CHIP affects many organs of the bodies. Given my interest in the kidneys, I set out to determine whether CHIP affects the kidneys. What I found was that it does affect the kidneys; it seems to promote progression of chronic kidney disease and to increase the risk of acute kidney injury. We published a number of high impact papers – notably in Nature Medicine and in Nature Reviews Nephrology – looking at CHIP and its effects on the kidneys. I think that was important because CHIP is quite common. We estimate about one in 10 people above age 65 have CHIP. I think identifying this as a new risk factor for kidney injury was a first step in working towards hopefully determining if we can treat CHIP to prevent kidney injury, which is a question for future work.

Q: What does receiving this award mean for your research career? 

A: I was in clinical training and then decided to take the step away from training to undertake this PhD, whereas my peers at Queen’s went on to finish their residencies, fellowships, and many are now working… and I’m still a resident. To me, while I’ve found it very personally rewarding to pursue my research interests, this award is a reminder that what I’m doing with my research in the broader sense is valuable and worthwhile. It’s just one more step of encouragement towards my broader career goal of being a clinician-scientist. 

Q: What advice would you give to other young researchers or students interested in pursuing careers in health and medicine? 

A: I think if someone has a research idea or sees a gap in the medical literature that’s pressing and they’re keen to address it, they should take the leap. It can be the adventure of a lifetime. I didn’t expect the PhD have turned out as well as it did, but I think just trusted my instincts that we’d find something interesting. I would encourage people to be bold if you want to go after these important scientific questions – even if it’s a daunting task or it may take some years to accomplish.  

Q: What are your future research plans? 

A: I’m obsessed with the kidneys and kidney genetics specifically. CHIP is an acquired genetic condition that affects the kidneys, and I’m also interested in the broader spectrum of kidney disease genetics including inherited disorders. My plan ultimately is to be a clinician scientist focused mainly on kidney genetics, identifying people who are at risk for kidney disease based on their genetics, and genetics-targeted therapies. Now that we’re starting to have approved gene therapies for different disorders, I would love to be part of the revolution that leads us to doing that for kidney disease. I want to save peoples kidneys from bad genetics – that is really my driving force.