Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Robyn L. Woods BSc (Hons), PhD is Associate Professor in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Alfred Hospital campus. She was Director of the aspirin primary prevention clinical trial, ASPREE (ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly), which was conducted in Australia and the United States from 2010 to 2017. It was the largest clinical trial to be conducted in Australia, recruiting 16,703 participants aged 70+ years, across South-Eastern Australia and employing up to 100 research staff. She continued as Director of the observational follow-on study, ASPREE-XT, until her retirement from the position in 2021. A/Prof Woods continues as an ASPREE investigator and is the ongoing Director of the large ancillary study, the ASPREE Healthy Ageing Biobank. She was co-first author on the New England Journal of Medicine paper (2018) describing the main ASPREE results that changed clinical guidelines for preventative aspirin use in older persons. A/Prof Woods has more than 175 research publications with H-index of 29.
A/Prof Woods played a pivotal role in securing the primary NIH grant for ASPREE in 2009, ASPREE completion grant funding from the NHMRC in 2016, and follow-on funding from the NIH for the ASPREE-XT study in 2019. Sub-studies on which she was a key investigator and contributor to successful funding applications include the ASPREE Healthy Ageing Biobank (CSIRO; VCA; NCI/NIH), ASPREE-Age-related Macular Degeneration (NEI/NIH; NHMRC), ASPREE-Depression (NHMRC), ASPREE Cancer Endpoints (NCI/NIH; NHMRC), SNORE-ASA (NHMRC) and ANTI-SEPSIS (NHMRC). She was an associate investigator on other NHMRC-funded sub-studies including ENVISion, Falls & Fractures and ASPREE-NEURO, overseeing the linkages between ASPREE and all sub-studies. Currently A/Prof Woods is the Australian Principal Investigator of the ASPREE-Microbiome and Biobank sub-study funded by the NIA/NIH (2019-2024).
A/Prof Woods trained as a physiologist with special research interests in the homeostatic integration of the cardiovascular, neuro-endocrine and renal systems and how their regulation is altered in pathophysiology. She established and supervised research laboratories that focused on basic animal physiology research and peptide analysis, at the Baker Institute (15 years) and the Florey Institute (8 years) in Melbourne. For much of this time she was an NHMRC Research Fellow, conducting seminal work on the physiology of the natriuretic peptides. In 2006, A/Prof Woods made the transition to clinical research into ageing health and disease. Her research areas of special interest now include disability, dementia, cardiovascular disease, depression, and declining kidney function in older adults; and the role of aspirin and inflammation in these key health areas.
In 2015, A/Prof Woods was awarded the Howard Florey Medal for her contributions to animal welfare and ethics, and she received the President's Award from the National Heart Foundation for services to the peer review processes in Australia. She has supervised 4 PhD students and 6 Honours students to successful completion and currently supervises 5 PhD candidates.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Network
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ASPREE-XT: ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly EXtension (ASPREE-XT)
Murray, A. M., McNeil, J., Woods, R., Storey, E., Orchard, S., Nelson, M., Lockery, J., Wolfe, R., Ryan, J., Ernst, M. E., Chan, A. & Shah, R. C.
15/07/19 → 30/04/24
Project: Research
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Prospective study of the gut microbiome in aging
Chan, A. T., Woods, R., Orchard, S., Ryan, J., Lacaze, P. & McNeil, J.
15/09/20 → 31/08/22
Project: Research
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Effect of clonal haematopoiesis and aspirin on outcomes in elderly: the ASPREE-HAEM study
McQuilten, Z., Curtis, D., Wood, E., Wolfe, R., Lacaze, P., Sebra, R., Murphy, A. J., Riaz, M., McNeil, J., Woods, R. & Wong, N.
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) (Australia)
1/01/19 → 30/06/22
Project: Research
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A pilot dementia clinical quality registry to improve dementia clinical care
McNeil, J., Brodaty, H., Ahern, S., Storey, E., Earnest, A., Woods, R., Nelson, M. R., Dean, J., Krysinska, K., Ward, S. A. & Liew, D.
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) (Australia)
1/09/17 → 31/08/22
Project: Research
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Building knowledge to better target stress-reducing interventions and delay the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Ryan, J., McNeil, J., Woods, R. & Ancelin, M.
1/02/17 → 31/01/18
Project: Research
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Association Between CKD and Major Hemorrhage in Older Persons: Data From the Aspirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly Randomized Trial
Mahady, S. E., Polekhina, G., Woods, R. L., Wolfe, R., Wetmore, J. B., Margolis, K. L., Wood, E. M., Cloud, G. C., Murray, A. M. & Polkinghorne, K. R., Apr 2023, In: Kidney International Reports. 8, 4, p. 737-745 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access -
Cancer Treatment Patterns and Factors Affecting Receipt of Treatment in Older Adults: Results from the ASPREE Cancer Treatment Substudy (ACTS)
Muhandiramge, J., Warner, E. T., Zalcberg, J. R., Haydon, A., Polekhina, G., van Londen, G. J., Gibbs, P., Bernstein, W. B., Tie, J., Millar, J. L., Mar, V. J., McNeil, J. J., Woods, R. L., Orchard, S. G. & on behalf of the ASPREE Investigator Group, Feb 2023, In: Cancers. 15, 4, 16 p., 1017.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access -
Cognitive trajectories and incident dementia after a cardiovascular event in older adults
Vishwanath, S., Hopper, I., Wolfe, R., Polekhina, G., Reid, C. M., Tonkin, A. M., Murray, A. M., Shah, R. C., Storey, E., Woods, R. L., McNeil, J., Orchard, S. G., Nelson, M. R., Steves, C. J. & Ryan, J., 2023, (Accepted/In press) In: Alzheimer's and Dementia. 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access -
Correlates of Meal Skipping in Community Dwelling Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study
Wild, H., Gasevic, D., Woods, R. L., Ryan, J., Berk, M., Wolfe, R., McNeil, J. & Owen, A. J., 3 Feb 2023, In: Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging. 27, 2, p. 159-165 7 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access -
GFR Variability, Survival, and Cardiovascular Events in Older Adults
Fravel, M. A., Ernst, M. E., Webb, K. L., Wetmore, J. B., Wolfe, R., Woods, R. L., Reid, C. M., Chowdhury, E., Murray, A. M., Polkinghorne, K. R. & on behalf of the ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly Investigator Group, Feb 2023, In: Kidney Medicine. 5, 2, 11 p., 100583.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access