Dr Maria Alejandra Pinero de Plaza is a research fellow and data scientist at Flinders University, Australia, specialising in public health, digital health, and the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare. 

She is known for her work in the following areas:

• Implementation Science and Evaluation. Her research focuses on evaluating the effectiveness of health interventions and ensuring they are adopted in the real world (Health Service Research).
• Digital Health and AI. Dr Pinero de Plaza utilises advanced methods, including AI and machine learning, to improve health services and understand how people interact with technology in complex health contexts.
• Advocacy for Vulnerable Populations. She leads the "Frail, Homebound & Bedridden People" (FHBP) program, advancing research and advocating for digital health equity and access to care for communities often excluded from traditional healthcare systems (Knowledge Translation and Inclusion).
• Framework Development. She is the founder and lead developer of PROLIFERATE and PROLIFERATE_AI, internationally recognised frameworks for evaluating the adoption, equity, and sustainability of healthcare innovations (Implementation Science).
• Awards and Recognition. In 2024, she was recognised with the Healthcare Innovator Award at the inaugural Women of Colour in STEM Awards, the Vice-President & Executive Dean's Awards of Flinders University (2021 & 2022) and many other accolades.

She holds a PhD in Health Promotion, Social Marketing, and Behaviour and Health from Deakin University and has a background in Marketing Science and Social Communication. She also serves as an Associate Editor for the Q1 journal JBI Evidence Implementation, and completed in Feb 2025 the Applied AI and Data Science Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The Healthcare Innovator Award acknowledges significant achievements in healthcare, medical research, or patient care. Dr Pinero de Plaza was recognised for her work developing and applying the PROLIFERATE and PROLIFERATE_AI frameworks: tools for evaluating innovation and AI in healthcare systems. Her work in the CLCT, FHBP and the RAPIDx AI project (implemented across 12 hospitals in South Australia), demonstrates exemplar application of ethical, human-centered and evaluation research standards within real environments and contextual conditions. 

Dr Maria Alejandra Piñero de Plaza investigates health services and co-designs evaluations of innovations within their sociotechnical systems: systems where people, tools, and services interact to shape and inform how services and policies are delivered in the real world.

Her work supports the expansion of frailty studies, services and platforms, bringing a strong emphasis on making care more person-centred, equitable, and accessible through participatory research (actively involving consumers and end-users at every stage of the research process).

Dr Piñero de Plaza leadership concerning PROLIFERATE and PROLIFERATE_AI is upscaling the capacity of transdisciplinary teams and organisations to measure how their people experience new technologies, changes and services, as well as their likelihood of success  (e.g  CSIRO ON Prime).

As a member of collaborative and transdisciplinary research teams, she has contributed to securing over A$2.67 million in competitive research funding. Notable contributions include:

• 1.    RAPIDx AI – Optimising Evidence Translation in Emergency Management for Suspected Cardiac Chest Pain
  Role: Evaluator and AI specialist
  Funding: A$1,230,191.40 (NHMRC)
• 2.    Safe@Home – Telemonitoring and Virtual Care for Chronic Disease Management
  Role: Evaluator of virtual care systems
  Funding: A$1,096,999.00 (NHMRC) + A$350,000.00 (NALHN)
• 3.    CREW – Cardiac Rehabilitation Especially for Women
  Role: Co-investigator and knowledge dissemination lead
  Funding: A$150,000.00 (The Hospital Research Foundation)
• 4.    CR4ALL – Cardiac Rehabilitation for All
  Role: Chief Investigator ‘C’
  Funding: A$24,990.30 (Flinders Foundation)
• 5.    COVID-19 Rapid Evaluation of Allied Health and Nursing Practice
  Role: Senior Chief Investigator
  Funding: A$49,891.00 (Flinders Caring Futures Institute)
• 6.    Frail, Homebound and Bedridden People Project
  (#FHBP, which has influenced how governments engaged with homebound people) Role: Chief Investigator A
  Funding: A$4,000.00 (Caring Futures Institute Accelerator Scheme)
• 7.    Australia’s National CSIRO ON Prime Innovator Program - Reward
  Role: Chief Investigator A for PROLIFERATE_AI
  Funding: A$5,000.00

Her research employs AI, predictive modelling, expert knowledge elicitation, and Bayesian approaches to understand and influence behaviours, as well as to support the implementation and scale-up of health interventions and programs. 

Her 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis, published in Health and Social Care in the Community, demonstrated that telehealth can reduce healthcare utilization, and improve quality of life  and wellbeing for homebound people, informing Australian legislation at state and federal levels. Her studies have also informed the South Australia new cardiac rehabilitation model of care (2026), with projects on nurse-led care, clinical effectiveness of cardiac rehabilitation, and barriers for people in rural and remote areas, older adults, First Nations Peoples, and women with heart disease. These studies report new knowledge and outcomes such as hospital use, remote monitoring, medication adherence, health-related quality of life, and program completion via interactive cardiac rehabilitation web applications.

Dr Piñero de Plaza applies care theories and frameworks, such as the Caring Life Course Theory, to explore how people experience care over time and associated epidemiology approaches. She also utilises the Fundamentals of Care Framework to evaluate contextual, emotional, physical, and relational care, facilitating care integration and considering the effects of technology. Her most recent work applies these models through predictive analytics across countries and services.

As a knowledge translation and implementation researcher, she co-designs and evaluates communication tools, such as infographics, digital galleries and videos, to support shared decision-making (e.g #FHBP) and therapeutic relationships between patients, caregivers, communities, and clinicians (e.g. her most recent dissemination work on Springer Nature). These ideas, products and tools are used in training, planning, and evaluation. She also teaches and coordinates topics on healthy ageing and supervises PhD students.

Springer Nature Research Communities

Dr Pinero de Plaza advocates for evidence-based research and contributes to the development of different fields. She peer-reviews for JBi, Frontiers, The Lancet, Springer Nature Platforms, and is a member of the JBI Evidence Implementation Network, two JBI expert reference groups (Cardiovascular and Aged Care). She serves as an Associate Editor for JBI Evidence Implementation (Q1 Journal).

What is FWCI (Field-Weighted Citation Impact)?
FWCI shows how often a researcher’s work is cited compared to the global average in the same field.

A score of 1.0 means citations are at the global average.
A score of 2.0 means the work is cited twice as often as expected.
A score of 9.0 means it is cited nine times more than average.

As of July 2025, Dr. Maria Alejandra Piñero de Plaza holds an FWCI of 2.85, indicating that her work is cited 185% more frequently than the global norm. Her median FWCI is 1.62, showing consistent above-average influence across her portfolio. These results reflect the practical relevance and international reach of her research in digital health, care innovation, and health system improvement.

Fields where Dr. Piñero de Plaza’s research is cited more than twice the global average (FWCI > 2): Medical and Surgical Nursing — 9.04; Advanced and Specialised Nursing — 9.04; Public Health — 6.65; Cardiology — 4.33; Nursing Research and Theory — 4.45; General Nursing — 3.92; Biomedical and Medical Engineering — 3.48; Health Informatics — 2.65; Health Information Management — 2.66; Health Policy — 2.22; Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy — 2.17; Nursing Ethics and Legal Aspects — 2.07; Multidisciplinary Research — 2.06. These metrics confirm Dr. Piñero de Plaza’s global impact and leadership in advancing person-centred care, digital innovation, and equitable health systems.

Dr Pinero de Plaza serves in advisory research and knowledge translation roles (e.g. ME_Group Australia). Colleagues and organisations associated  to health reseach and the STEM sector have recognised her career path and contributions to their fields, e.g, Franklin Women.