Kelly Pretorius

Biography

Dr. Kelly Pretorius is a Clinical Assistant Professor at The University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing. She received her BSN from the University of Texas in 2007 and her MSN from Duke University in 2010. She then obtained her MPH, with an emphasis on Healthcare Management and Policy from San Diego State University in 2017. Following her MPH, she completed her PhD at the University of Texas at Austin as Robert Wood Johnson Future of Nursing Scholar in 2019. She then completed her T32 postdoctoral research fellowship at Indiana University, funded by NINR, in 2024.

She has worked in pediatrics for over 18 years and in a variety of clinical settings as a pediatric nurse practitioner. She is currently employed at Texas Children’s Hospital North Austin with Pediatric Hospital Medicine, where she also serves as the Research Co-Champion.

Her research focus is on pediatric injury prevention, with particular attention to the impact of social media on parenting. She was selected as one of five National Emergency Medical Services for Children Scholars and is currently conducting a study on parental safety practices, funded by a Pediatric Pandemic Network Pilot Grant. She was awarded the Early Science Investigator Award on behalf of the Southern Nursing Research Society in 2025. She is a member of numerous professional organizations and serves as a subject matter expert for Austin Public Health's safe sleep task force.