Meet Dr Maria Alejandra Piñero de Plaza, Research Fellow at the Caring Futures Institute, Flinders University, and recipient of the Women of Colour in STEM Healthcare Innovator Award 2024 (more info about the 2025 awards and awards night tickets are available here). Below she talks about putting people at the centre of research, using AI in healthcare and embracing what makes you different.

What is your current role and how did you get to be there?

I’m a Research Fellow at the Caring Futures Institute, where I work at the intersection of implementation science, digital health and AI. My career began in social communication and marketing science, but I soon realised how these skills could be harnessed to promote health. After moving to Australia, I began a Master of Marketing Science by Research at the University of South Australia, which I later upgraded to a PhD in Health Promotion, Social Marketing, and Behaviour and Health at Deakin University. My doctoral research investigated how environmental cues influence eating habits and how these insights can inform policies to prevent obesity. The path has been far from linear. I’ve navigated cultural transitions, career gaps and structural barriers, yet curiosity, persistence and a commitment to collaboration beyond personal gain have brought me to where I am today.

How does your work contribute to the field? 

I design evaluations and use diverse research methodologies that put people at the centre of change while harnessing the potential of technology. One example is PROLIFERATE_AI, where I worked alongside clinicians, technicians and patients to evaluate how AI is used to improve hospital assessment and treatment for people with chest pain in emergency departments, and how these processes and experiences can be refined over time. Another is the Visibility for Frail, Homebound and Bedridden People (#FHBP) project, which amplifies the voices of those rarely able to leave home, influencing how governments plan and deliver their care. My goal is simple: ensure health services and innovations truly work for the people they intend to serve, and for everyone involved along the way.

What is a project you would love to get off the ground or a skill you would like to develop, if you had the opportunity? 

I’m looking for partners, funding and healthcare services interested in putting these ideas into action. I want to take PROLIFERATE_AI across Australia and overseas to explore how human-centred, AI-powered evaluations can support different types of innovation and change in a range of cultures and health systems. I also plan to run a large Australian study of the Fundamental Care Predicted Model Tool, which combines prediction modelling with people’s feedback to improve care quality and strengthen the relationship between patients and clinicians, leading to better outcomes for both.

What are your loves outside of work?

I enjoy thought-provoking conversations and cosy movie nights, whether at home or at the cinema with my husband and sons. I love painting in a naïf style, and have a passion for adventure, music, dancing and singing. I treasure long chats with loved ones across time zones, and I’m always ready for a good walk or hike in nature, or a refreshing jetty dive at the beach.

What is one piece of advice you could pass onto others following their own career in health and medical research sector? 

Trust yourself, even when the path feels uphill. What makes you different is your strength, which gives you the vision to see solutions that others cannot. If a door will not open, create your own and keep going.