Abi Fuller named AQR Wendy Gordon Pioneers Award finalist!

We’re incredibly proud to share that Abi Fuller has been named a finalist for the 2026 AQR Wendy Gordon Pioneers Award. It’s a brilliant recognition, and one that feels particularly special because of what it represents. This isn’t just about individual achievement, but about the kind of thinking that quietly pushes the research industry forward.

If you know Abi, you’ll know she’s never been one for doing things the “usual” way. There’s always been a focus on making research feel more real, more grounded, and more reflective of how people actually behave in the environments they’re used to. That way of thinking is what led to the creation of the Healthcare Simulation Suite at Aspect Viewing Facilities.

At the time, there was a clear and frustrating gap in healthcare research. Access to NHS environments is understandably limited, and alternative options often fall short of what’s needed. Hotel rooms, hired spaces, adapted facilities… they can work, but they don’t quite capture the reality of a clinical setting. And in healthcare, that matters more than most. When an environment doesn’t feel familiar, behaviour changes. Clinicians pause where they wouldn’t usually pause, they think about actions that would normally be instinctive, and the insight you capture starts to drift away from real-world use.

The idea behind the suite was simple: create a space that feels right. Not staged or themed, but genuinely reflective of clinical environments. A space that can flex to different settings, from operating theatres to consultation rooms, with the detail and familiarity clinicians would expect in their day-to-day roles. Because when people feel comfortable, they behave naturally, and when behaviour is natural, the insight becomes far more meaningful.

Since launching, the suite has supported countless healthcare studies, spanning usability testing, medical device development and clinical simulation. For many clients, it’s opened up research that would have otherwise been difficult, delayed or simply not possible.

For Acumen Health, that’s had a real impact on what we’re able to deliver. It means we can run studies more efficiently, without relying on oversubscribed clinical environments, while still maintaining the level of realism that healthcare research demands. More importantly, it means we’re able to see behaviour as it actually happens, not adjusted or second-guessed, but instinctive. That leads to clearer insight, more confident decisions, and ultimately better outcomes.

Abi being named a finalist for this award is a reflection of that. Not just the space itself, but the thinking behind it, a belief that context matters, that detail matters, and that if we want better outcomes in healthcare, we need to get as close to real life as possible. We’re incredibly proud to see Abi recognised in this way, and proud of the work that’s made it possible.

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