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Amy C. Cole, PhD, MPS, MS, PMP, is a Research Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with appointments in the School of Information and Library Science, the Carolina Health Informatics Program, and the Division of Healthcare Engineering in the School of Medicine. She is a human factors and health services researcher whose work spans medical device innovation, digital health, patient‑clinician communication, and values‑driven decision support. Dr Cole focuses on designing and evaluating technologies that improve safety, usability, and overall care experiences for patients, caregivers, and clinicians.

Her portfolio is supported by competitive funding and recognitions across device and digital health innovation, among them a National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NIH [NCATS]) pilot award for prototype development and a U.S. National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (NSF I‑Corps™) grant for customer discovery. She has received national honors, such as the Oley Foundation’s Top Clinical Research Paper Award, the Society for Medical Decision Making’ (SMDM) Anne Stiggelbout Award, and the Dennis Revicki Memorial Award, and was selected for the National Science Foundation (NSF) National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) Pilot cohort.

Dr Cole serves nationally as a member of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Rare Disease Advisory Panel and on the SMDM’s Patient Advocacy Council, contributing to national efforts to center patient perspectives in research and innovation.

An experienced speaker, she has presented at leading conferences including International Society for Quality of Life Research (ISOQOL), SMDM, the International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare, and Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). She regularly delivers invited talks and workshops on patient‑centered care, human factors, and digital health. Dr Cole’s research often involves simulation‑based methods, co‑design with diverse stakeholders, and mixed‑methods approaches to evaluate and refine innovative health care technologies. She also directs an internship program in patient‑centered care and systems innovation. Her work is driven by a commitment to advancing innovative, patient‑centered solutions that strengthen health care systems and improve outcomes across diverse clinical settings.