Dr. Catherine Clase completed degrees in pathology and medicine at Christ’s College, Cambridge, UK. She underwent postgraduate training in internal medicine at Memorial University of Newfoundland, and in nephrology and research methodology at McMaster University. After holding her first faculty appointment at Dalhousie University from 1997 to 2001, she joined McMaster University, where she is currently a professor of medicine. She also serves as an associate member of the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, and the Centre of Excellence in Protective Equipment and Materials.
Her research and clinical interests focus on pharmacotherapy in people with CKD, diet and potassium management, and optimizing the transition from pediatric to adult care. Dr. Clase is the medical lead for St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton program for transitioning young people with kidney disease to adult practice. Additionally, she co-chaired the Canadian commentary on the KDIGO metabolic bone disease guidelines (2019) and the KDIGO potassium controversies conference, while maintaining a long-standing role as an editor for the American College of Physicians Journal Club.
Beyond her academic and clinical work, Dr. Clase is a dedicated advocate for public health and humanitarian causes. She advocates for mask usage in healthcare and workplaces to prevent acute and chronic health impacts from recurrent COVID infections, serving as editor-in-chief of www.maskevidence.org. As co-founder and co-chair of Doctors for Humanity and an advisory board member of UOSSM (Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations), she helped coordinate the delivery of humanitarian aid containers to Uganda and Ukraine. Dr. Clase is grateful to live and work on the traditional territory shared between the Haudenosaunee confederacy and the Anishinabe nations, acknowledged in the Dish with One Spoon wampum.
