Professor Maple-Brown has demonstrated outstanding contributions in clinical impact and leadership. In 14 years since her PhD, she has established and grown a Darwin-based research program that is now 31 staff, students and early-career researchers. Her program is the first and largest Australian partnership between researchers, policy makers and health services on intergenerational diabetes, and the largest such program globally for First Nations people.

Professor Maple-Brown was the first to identify and describe the intergenerational nature of the diabetes epidemic among Aboriginal Australians. She pioneered the national response, establishing clinical registers, defining research priorities and building capacity in health systems.