Dr. Kelly Pretorius

Biography

Kelly Pretorius is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Austin's School of Nursing. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Texas in 2007 and went on to obtain her Master of Science in Nursing from Duke University in 2010. Kelly also earned a Master of Public Health with a focus on Healthcare Management Policy from San Diego State University in 2017. She completed her PhD at the University of Texas at Austin as a Robert Wood Johnson Future of Nursing Scholar in 2019 and participated in a T32 postdoctoral research fellowship at Indiana University, funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research, which she completed in 2024. With 18 years of experience in pediatrics across various clinical settings, she works as a pediatric nurse practitioner at Texas Children’s Hospital North Austin Pediatric Hospital Medicine and serves as a Research Co-Champion. Kelly's research focuses on pediatric injury prevention, with a particular emphasis on the impact of parenting. She is one of five National Emergency Medical Services Children Scholars currently conducting a study on parental safety practices, funded by the Pediatric Pandemic Network Pilot Grant. In 2025, she was awarded the Early Science Investigator Award by the Southern Nursing Research Society and is a member of several professional organizations, serving as a subject matter expert for Austin Public Health's safe sleep task force.

Research Interests

Experience

Awards