Former Healthcare Scientist Innovation Fellow Named as TechWomen100 Award Winner

We are extremely proud of our former Healthcare Scientist Innovation Fellow Virginia Marin Anaya being named in the WeAreTechWomen’s TechWomen100 list.

The TechWomen100 Awards recognise the outstanding achievements of women shaping the future of technology. This year’s winners highlight women working within a range of technology roles including AI, cyber security, software engineering, data and product development from a wide range of public-sector bodies, universities, private companies and growing organisations.

Based in the Medical Physics and Bioengineering department at University College London Hospitals (UCLH) NHS Foundation Trust, Virginia has experience in radiotherapy, proton beam therapy and radiation physics. She was part of our second cohort of Healthcare Scientists Innovation Fellows which launched in 2022. During this programme, Virginia’s project consisted of the evaluation, adoption and implementation of artificial intelligence-based auto-contouring software for photon and proton treatment planning. Using auto-contouring as standard care could lead to improved consistency, optimised patient treatment pathways, improved patient outcomes and more effective use of staff resources. 

Virginia was new to PPIE in her role at the start of her Fellowship but found the work really inspiring. She gave presentations to staff within her department on the importance of including PPIE within research and innovation projects and wrote an article for the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM) magazine about her PPIE learning journey, saying “ I found the PPIE learning module, which included an “Ask the Experts” session very helpful. What I found from my PPIE activity surprised me…The challenge around slow adoption and uptake of new technology and under-representation of accessing health services is well acknowledged. Both of these challenges can be helped by PPIE by ensuring products are developed which are fit for purpose as defined by all future users of that technology.” Wendy Tindale said “Virginia’s work in patient involvement was pioneering in this area. She successfully overcame a variety of challenges and, as a result, gained insights into what really makes a difference for patients.”

Following from the Healthcare Scientist Innovation Fellowship, Virginia was awarded the Topol Digital Fellowship which has secured further funding for her project. This work includes investigating the adoption and implementation of AI-based auto-contouring systems for photon and proton treatment planning of head and neck and prostate cancer. She has also been awarded the IPEM grant for a project on ultrasound elastography in collaboration with breast cancer patients. Women in black and ethnic minority communities are diagnosed with later-stage breast cancer at an earlier age and have a higher mortality than white women. Elastography has the potential to reduce these health inequalities.

Following this wonderful recognition for her achievements Virginia told us” Recognition like this is never achieved alone, and I am truly grateful to everyone who has supported me. A big thank you to the D4D team and my mentor Wendy Tindale. The NIHR Innovation Fellowship allowed me to improve my communication and leadership skills, collaborate with patients, multidisciplinary teams, adding value and creating positive and meaningful impact.”

The TechWomen100 Awards ceremony will be held on the 16th of October at Mansion House in London. For more information on how to attend click here.