Dr. Kirlew  attended Harrison Memorial High School in Montego Bay. He then studied Radiography before attending college at the University of Florida in Gainesville. He graduated from Stanford University School of Medicine and completed his Diagnostic Radiology residency and Neuroradiology fellowship training at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA). He is certified by the American Board of Radiology.

Dr. Kirlew is also the Managing director of NorthCoast Imaging MRI, and the chief radiologist at Winchester MRI in Kingston Jamaica. He has been a clinical instructor in the Radiology Department at the University of The West Indies.

He enjoys music, writing, travel and various sports, especially tennis.