Lisa Wood

Professor Lisa Wood is the Pro Vice Chancellor of the College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing at the University of Newcastle. She holds a PhD in Nutrition and Dietetics and has over 20 years of research experience in nutritional biochemistry, focusing on the interplay between diet, inflammation, and respiratory diseases like asthma and cystic fibrosis. Her work bridges nutrition science and respiratory medicine, emphasizing dietary guidelines for disease management. She leads the Nutrition and Metabolism Theme at HMRI and has supervised 22 PhD and 2 Masters students.

Education: BSc (Honours) from the University of Sydney, PhD in Nutrition & Dietetics from the University of Newcastle. Professional roles include former Head of the School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy (2020–2025) and interim Pro Vice Chancellor Student Engagement (2023–2024). Leadership in national organizations includes President of the Nutrition Society of Australia (2016–2021) and Chair of Asthma Australia’s Research Advisory Committee.

Research Interests: Mechanisms of dietary factors (e.g., antioxidants, fatty acids, soluble fiber) on airway inflammation; obesity-related asthma; translational nutrition interventions. Key contributions include demonstrating that high fruit/vegetable diets reduce asthma exacerbations and identifying saturated fatty acids’ impact on bronchodilator efficacy. Her work informs clinical guidelines, including the Australian Asthma Handbook.

Awards: 2022 Nutrition Society of Australia Medal, 2006 NSW Tall Poppy Award, and multiple mid-career recognitions. Over 210 publications (H-index 57/Scopus).

Labs/Teams: Leads the Nutrition Research group in the Priority Research Centre for Asthma and Respiratory Diseases at HMRI. Collaborates with bariatric surgeons and clinical trial networks.