2026 40 Under 40 Honoree: Amanda McQuillan (36)
“Ambition does not have to mean choosing achievement over presence.”
PHOTO BY LAURA PETRILLA
Amanda McQuillan
Executive Director, Business Transformation at CVP
More than 35,000 veterans have had their genes tested through a pharmacogenomics program Amanda McQuillan helped build across nine VA health systems.
The premise is remarkably practical: A person’s DNA can offer clues about whether a medication will work, cause side effects or require a different dose, taking some of the guesswork out of prescribing. McQuillan spent 12 years at VA Pittsburgh, ultimately leading a regional program testing 22 genes relevant to more than 100 medications.
More than 1,200 providers have used it, helping move pharmacogenomics from a specialist service into everyday care. But her understanding of medicine changed at home. At 13 days old, her daughter Rosie developed acute meningoencephalitis and became critically ill.
“As a healthcare professional, I understood medicine intellectually,” McQuillan says. “As a parent sitting at the bedside, I understood the emotional reality.” Rosie is now thriving, and McQuillan has become an advocate and fundraiser for UPMC Children’s Hospital.
Recently named an executive director at CVP, a VA federal consultant, she is taking the lessons of Pittsburgh’s program into her next chapter serving veterans.
