Dr. Pinilla is originally from Colombia and received her MD from Universidad de Caldas in Manizales, Caldas, Colombia. She moved to Spain to complete training in internal medicine and cardiology. Then, she moved to Canada to complete an interventional cardiology, non-invasive cardiac computed tomography angiography, and advanced intracoronary imaging fellowship at McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada. She also obtained a master’s degree in health research methodology from Universidad de Cordoba and a PhD from Universidad Complutense in Madrid, Spain. She actively participates in acute coronary syndrome research at the Population Health Research Institute.  
 
Dr. Pinilla is an associate professor at the Department of Medicine Division of Cardiology at McMaster University and an interventional cardiology staff member at Hamilton Health Sciences and Niagara Health. She is the cath lab director at Niagara Health and the Intravascular Coronary Imaging Fellowship program director at McMaster University. Dr. Pinilla has trained national and international interventional cardiologists in complex coronary interventions and intracoronary imaging. She leads educational programs and academic activities worldwide and has become a career mentor for international trainees. 

In March 2024, Dr. Pinilla guest edited The Role of Cardiac Computed Tomography Angiography in Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prognosis of Cardiac Disease, a JSCAI special edition.