Catherine Woods

Professor Catherine Woods is a leading academic in physical activity and public health at the University of Limerick (UL), serving as Director of the Physical Activity for Health Research Centre (PAfH) and member of the Health Research Institute (HRI). She holds honorary professorships at the University of Edinburgh and Ulster University. Her work focuses on multi-level physical activity interventions, policy evaluation, and implementation science across populations including clinical patients, older adults, and youth.

Education: Not explicitly stated in text but inferred through academic roles.

Research Interests:

• Physical activity policy development & evaluation
• Implementation science for scalable interventions
• Exercise programs for clinical populations (e.g., cancer survivors, chronic disease patients)
• School-based physical activity promotion
• Health equity through policy interventions

Key Projects: Leads the EU-funded IMPAQT policy project and Ireland's I-PARC collaboration. Directs the ULMedX community rehabilitation program and Active School Flag initiative.

Scientific Contributions: Has published 165+ peer-reviewed articles, with recent work on adolescent health communication, community-based interventions, and policy implementation frameworks. Her research bridges academia and practice through partnerships with governments and NGOs.

Grants & Supervision: Secured €8M+ in research funding from EU Horizon 2020, HRB, and national agencies. Supervised 19+ graduate students and currently mentors 33 PhD candidates across UL departments.

Labs/Teams: Heads the transdisciplinary PAfH Centre with 13 core faculty and 9 postdoctoral researchers. Operates through three pillars: Research Innovation, Policy Translation, and Community Engagement.