Kathryn (Katie) Birnie is a fourth-year PhD student at Dalhousie University (Halifax, Canada) under the mentorship of Christine Chambers, PhD. Katie has an exceptionally strong track record in research, clinical, leadership and community endeavors within the field of pediatric psychology. She has been involved in various research projects primarily examining topics within the area of pediatric pain including: catastrophizing and parenting during parent-child interactions about pain, pain experiences of hospitalized children, ethical issues in pediatric research, and use of the cold pressor task in pediatric populations. Katie has presented her research at international, national, and local conferences, and has collaborated on 12 peer-reviewed publications, four non-peer-reviewed publications and three book chapters. She is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship. For her dissertation project, Katie is examining pain catastrophizing, parenting and parental responsiveness during parent-child interactions about pain and conflict.