Meet Dr Lee Woods RN PhD FAIDH – HERA Senior Research Fellow – Clinical Informatics
Can you describe your career journey
I completed my Bachelor of Nursing straight from high school and was a Registered Nurse before my 21st birthday. I worked as a Cardiac Clinical Nurse Specialist for many years before returning to study in the hope I could address some health system challenges. I received my PhD on clinician-led digital health innovation in 2019 in Sydney.
During my PhD I also completed a four-year Fellowship by Training Program with the Australasian Institute of Digital Health. The program included a 12-month industry placement with the Australian Digital Health Agency where I managed a number of workforce projects, including the National Digital Health Workforce and Education Roadmap.
I joined UQ’s Centre for Health Services Research as a Research Fellow in 2020 after a very dramatic race across the state border amid COVID border lockdowns. Even though we had to home isolate in a new city over Christmas, living and working in Queensland has been well worth it.
Tell us about your work at UQ's Queensland Digital Health Centre (QDHeC)
I was appointed a Health Research Accelerator (HERA) Researcher after the Queensland Digital Health Centre secured strategic health research funding from the University of Queensland Vice-Chancellor. In my role I have the opportunity to lead consultancies, write grants, publish new research, present at conferences and build a team of incredible colleagues that I love working with daily. A highlight was spending two weeks on secondment in the remote Torres Strait Islands learning about rural healthcare delivery which further fuelled my passion for enabling accessible, equitable healthcare. I think experiencing health system strain firsthand really makes one think about better ways of working, and the increasing need for sustainable, tech-driven solutions. I’ve always been focused on supporting people to transform healthcare which is why my research focuses on the patient experience and clinician experience aims of the Quintuple Aims of Healthcare. Healthcare is a human endeavour, and humans are the health sector’s biggest asset.
What are your particularly proud of as a QDHeC researcher?
With my colleagues, I have helped advance organisational digital health maturity in partnership with government and industry. We led Australia’s first jurisdiction-wide assessment of Queensland Health. This world-first initiative, spanning 18 health systems and analysing 1.61 million consumer interactions, generated high-impact publications and is influencing policy decisions. We have created evidence-based tools to assess digital capabilities and our framework was adopted by Australia’s aged and community care sectors. It also informed business cases for digital infrastructure development, a state-wide digital strategy, and an economic evaluation.
What is your research vision?
My vision is to bridge the digital skills gap in the Australian health workforce. The rapid evolution of AI technology presents unique challenges in healthcare, where workers have limited experience and remain uncertain about integrating AI into practice. I aim to help create new knowledge, tools, and resources to support a future-ready, tech-savvy workforce, empowering workers with the necessary skills and confidence to adopt AI effectively. This initiative will pave the way for a digitally proficient workforce capable of driving innovation and growth.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
The water is where I find peace. On the weekend you’ll find me kayaking, jet skiing or at the yacht club with friends. I try to return to work on Monday mornings without sunburn!
Lee is one of eight finalists nationally in the prestigious 2024 Westpac Research Fellowship Awards and will be attending the National Assessment Centre in Sydney in December to represent UQ.
