Dr Aira Patrice Rueda Ong joined the Peninsula Clinical Trials Unit (PenCTU), University of Plymouth, as an Assistant Trial Manager in October 2026. This marks a new direction in her research career, building on her experience in health research, healthcare innovation and project management to support the delivery of high-quality clinical trials and other health studies. She remains committed to research, with an interest in how robust evidence can inform healthcare practice and the adoption of innovations. 

She currently supports the SAFE 2 trial, which evaluates the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of Systemic Autism-related Family Enabling, an intervention for families of autistic children funded by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme (award NIHR167788). 

Before joining PenCTU, Aira worked as a Post-doctoral Research Fellow and Project Manager on TULAY, an NIHR-funded project co-designing community physical rehabilitation in the Philippines (award NIHR150244). She coordinated UK–Philippines partners and contributed to survey research, qualitative research, stakeholder co-design and evaluation. 

Aira completed her PhD in Business with Management at the University of Plymouth as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Early Stage Researcher within AiPBAND—An Integrated Platform for Developing Brain Cancer Diagnostic Techniques. This pan-European Innovative Training Network received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement 764281. Her doctoral research explored sustainable business models for healthcare diagnostic technologies, focusing on stakeholder relationships, value creation and adoption. 

Aira is a creative thinker, an aspiring entrepreneur and a passionate researcher.