What’s the most important leadership lesson you’ve learned?

Lead by example.

What do you consider to be your most important career achievement or milestone?

I was very proud to be accepted to a doctoral program at the University of Texas at El Paso.

What do you aspire to accomplish in your career and why? What obstacles will you overcome?

I aspire to use technology to amplify access to rehabilitation.

Describe an amazing opportunity in your STEM career.

I worked with Stanford and New Mexico data scientists on an interdisciplinary project, combining wearable sensors, AI, and rehabilitation science to predict real-world community walking in stroke survivors and guide personalized recovery.

How was AWIS helped you professionally and/or personally?

AWIS has strengthened my confidence, leadership, and scientific voice.

What is your favorite word? (only one word)

Empathy.

How do you define it?

Empathy is the ability to link to others and put yourself in their shoes.

How has this word influenced or inspired your career?

Empathy has guided me to choose research that centers on people, not just data. It drives me to study real-world mobility after stroke, so the technologies I build reflect lived experience and genuinely improve patients’ independence and quality of life.

How does AWIS impact your career journey?

AWIS helps my career by giving me mentors, support, and a community.

What are you currently reading or listening to?:

I am reading Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.

What do you consider the best professional or personal advice you’ve ever received?

“Don’t complain. Don’t explain. Just show up and do what you have to do.”

Náguia De Medeiros is a Brazilian researcher with a background in physiotherapy and rehabilitation science. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Faculdade Ciências Médicas de Minas Gerais and her master’s from Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais in Brazil. She is currently a PhD student in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences at the University of Texas at El Paso, focusing on using technology to expand access to rehabilitation and improve mobility after stroke.