Dr David Baird (PhD MBChB (Hons) BSc (Med Sci) MRCP (UK)(Nephrology))

Senior Clinical Research Fellow and Honorary Consultant in Renal Medicine

  • Centre for Inflammation Research
  • Institute for Regeneration and Repair

Contact details

Address

Street

4-5 Little France Drive
Edinburgh BioQuarter

City
Edinburgh
Post code
EH16 4UU
Street

Renal Department
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
51 Little France Crescent

City
Edinburgh
Post code
EH16 4SA

Biography

Background

I graduated in Medicine from the University of Glasgow, where I also completed an intercalated honours degree in Medical Sciences. My early clinical training included rotations in Kent, London, New Zealand, and Edinburgh. In 2015, I began Specialist Registrar training in Renal Medicine in Dundee before returning to Edinburgh to undertake a PhD at the University of Edinburgh under the supervision of Professor David Ferenbach, Professor Jeremy Hughes, Dr Bryan Conway, and Dr Katie Mylonas. My doctoral research focused on the role of urinary biomarkers of cellular senescence in chronic kidney disease.

In 2024, I was awarded a Chief Scientist Office (CSO) Early Postdoctoral Fellowship to investigate urinary biomarkers in acute kidney injury and renal transplantation. I am based at the Centre for Inflammation Research, University of Edinburgh, and hold an Honorary Consultant post in Renal Medicine at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.

Qualifications

  • Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) in Renal and General (Internal) Medicine  2024.
  • PhD, University of Edinburgh, 2023.
  • MB ChB awarded with Honours, University of Glasgow, 2010.
  • Intercalated BSc in Medical Sciences awarded with First class Honours, University of Glasgow, 2008.

Responsibilities & affiliations

  • Honorary Consultant in Renal Medicine at Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
  • Principal Investigator in Edinburgh for the Kidney Research UK-funded NURTuRE-Acute Kidney Injury: Cardiac Surgery study

Research summary

Kidney disease affects 1 in 8 people in Scotland and is projected to become the fifth leading cause of premature death worldwide by 2040. My research focuses on the use of novel biomarkers to better understand kidney injury and ageing. I am particularly interested in translational research — progressing from biomarker discovery to clinical tools for early diagnosis and risk stratification, and identifying patients who may benefit from innovative, precision-based therapies.

Current project grants

• CSO Early Postdoctoral Fellowship - "Biomarkers of cell senescence and patient outcomes in disease"
• Medical Research Council Impact Acceleration Account - “Final validation of urinary Clusterin and Fibronectin as prognostic biomarkers in chronic kidney disease” (PI)
• Kidney Research UK Project Grant - “The influence of pre- and post-transplant epithelial senescence on long term kidney transplant outcomes” (Co-Investigator)

Past project grants

• Medical Research Council Clinical Research & Training Fellowship - “The discovery and validation of biomarkers of renal epithelial senescence in the human kidney”
• Kidney Research UK and Institutional Translational Partnership Award - “Validation of urinary biomarkers of senescence in human samples” (PI)

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