Dr. Catalina Alvarez completed a Pediatric Nephrology fellowship at Hospital Infantil de Mexico, Federico Gómez, while earning a master’s degree in Medical Sciences from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, she is now a Ph.D. Medical Sciences candidate at the same university. Dr. Alvarez received further training in pediatric transplantation at the Hospital for Sick Children Transplant & Regenerative Medicine Centre in Toronto and is currently a Ph.D. student in Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Toronto Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation. 

Dr. Alvarez’s research interest is in pharmacogenetics, pharmacoepidemiology and individualization of therapy. Her Ph.D. dissertation is focused on the relationship between long-term drug-related toxicity and the development of comorbidities in pediatric solid organ transplant recipients. Dr. Alvarez has researched the influence of polymorphisms related to dosing and effectiveness in long-term immunosuppression. She has published on drug disposition, drug monitoring and pharmacokinetics in children. 

Dr. Alvarez has a particular interest in measuring healthcare transition from pediatric to adult-focused services and has assisted in translating readiness tools into Spanish, generating data to guide clinical practice. Dr. Alvarez has co-authored several publications in this field and aims to improve clinical research in developing countries.