Trish Williams

Professor Trish Williams holds the Cisco Chair and Professorship in Digital Health Systems at Flinders University in South Australia, where she serves as Director of the Flinders Digital Health Research Centre and the Cisco-Flinders Digital Health Design Lab. She maintains leadership positions in the College of Science and Engineering across research, IT, Software Engineering, Security, and Health Informatics disciplines.

Her educational background includes a PhD in Medical Information Security from Edith Cowan University (2007), a Graduate Certificate in Education (2006), a Master of Science in Computer Science (2001), and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Mathematics and Computing from the University of Glamorgan, Wales (1983).

Professor Williams has established herself as an international expert in digital health information security with over 30 years of experience in healthcare computing, including 15 years in industry roles within general practice and pharmacy computing. Her research spans medical information security, healthcare informatics, medical device safety, remote patient monitoring, and international eHealth standards. She is particularly recognized for translating complex information security practices into practical, implementable guidance for primary care settings.

Her recent work demonstrates a strong trend toward the application of digital health technologies in disability support, cancer care, and medical device safety, with particular emphasis on practical implementation and real-world impact assessment.

• Brilliant Women in Digital Health Award from Telstra Health (2021)
• Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) (2021)

Professor Williams has supervised numerous graduate students across cybersecurity in healthcare, digital forensics, software engineering, and information security governance. She has attracted significant industry funding for PhD scholarships on remote patient monitoring and research into international eHealth software safety standards. Her leadership extends to the EU TREsPASS project and co-leadership on the IEC/ISO 80001 Foundation Standard for medical devices in IT networks.

She directs the Flinders Digital Health Research Centre and the Cisco-Flinders Digital Health Design Lab, collaborating extensively with international standards bodies including HL7 and ISO Technical Committee 215, where she serves as the Australian expert on security, software, and safety in health informatics.