Fabíola Costa leads clinical research strategy at Sword Health, directing the evidence programs that help healthcare systems adopt AI Care safely and at scale. Her work focuses on turning innovation into trustworthy healthcare solutions through clinical validation, real-world evidence, health economic evaluations, and outcomes research.
At Sword, she has helped build one of the largest evidence portfolios in digital musculoskeletal care, spanning randomized controlled trials, longitudinal real-world studies, health economics and outcomes research, and health equity research across diverse populations. Her measure for evidence is consistent: it has to hold up in the real world, with outcomes that matter to patients and the systems that serve them.
60+
peer-reviewed publications published in leading digital health journals.
PhD
in Biomedical Engineering, Cum Laude from Universidade do Porto.
Education
Fabíola holds a PhD in Biomedical Engineering, awarded Cum Laude, from the Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (2009–2015), where her doctoral research focused on surface-immobilized antimicrobial peptides for prevention of implant-related osteomyelitis. She also holds a PharmD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade do Porto (1998–2004).
Experience
With more than 20 years across translational science, biomedical engineering, and digital health, Fabíola has built a career at the intersection of clinical research, implementation science, and healthcare value. Before Sword, she led innovation research in academia, securing competitive funding, co-inventing patented technologies, and supervising multidisciplinary teams. She also served as Guest Assistant Professor at the University of Porto. At Sword, she works closely with clinical, AI, product, regulatory, commercial, and health economics teams to make sure scientific evidence shapes how care is built, scaled, and evaluated. She is a frequent speaker at clinical research and digital health forums, with a particular focus on AI Care, health equity, and women's health innovation.
