Professor Ruth Hubbard
Professor

Ruth Hubbard

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Background

Ruth E. Hubbard is a Consultant Geriatrician at the Princess Alexandra Hospital and in October 2020 was appointed as the Masonic Chair of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Queensland.

She qualified from St Mary’s Hospital Medical School in London and trained in general internal medicine and geriatric medicine in Cardiff, Wales. As a clinical academic, she has always combined hospital practice with research and teaching. She has completed an MSc in Medical Education, an MD on pathophysiological changes in frail older people and a post-doctoral fellowship in Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia with Professor Ken Rockwood. Here, she was able to test hypotheses regarding the determinants and manifestations of frailty through the interrogation of large datasets. She has published widely on the inflammatory aetiology of frailty, the difficulties of measuring frailty in clinical practice and the relationships between frailty and obesity, smoking, socioeconomic status and exercise. Based on the impact of her publications, she is currently ranked number 4 in a list of frailty experts worldwide (http://expertscape.com/ex/frail+elderly).

In the last 5 years, she has generated $24.5M in grant income including as CIA on the following: MRFF Dementia Ageing and Aged Care Mission ($5M), a Centre for Research Excellence in Frailty ($2.5M), an Ideas Grant ($1.6M) and the NHMRC Targeted Call for Frailty Research ($1.5M). As Founder and Director of the Australia Frailty Network (AFN), she has established a team of consumer partners, multidisciplinary clinical academics, behavioural psychologists and statisticians answering critical questions relating to the measurement and management of frailty.

Availability

Professor Ruth Hubbard is:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Fields of research

Aged health care Biomedical and Clinical Sciences Clinical sciences Health Sciences Health services and systems

Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Medicine Surgery, Imperial College
  • Masters (Coursework) of Science, Cardiff University
  • Doctoral Diploma of Medicine, Cardiff University
  • Bachelor of Science, Imperial College

Research interests

  • The Australian Frailty Network

    The Australian Frailty Network (AFN) was established in 2023 to address frailty across the Australian population. This pioneering initiative integrates research, education, policy advocacy, and practice into a cohesive strategy to improve health outcomes for people living with frailty. This research is funded by an MRFF Dementia Ageing and Aged Care Grant ($5M) Funding period: 2022 - 2027 Role: Lead, Chief Investigator A

  • FITTEST Trial

    The AFN’s flagship clinical trial FITTEST will test if a multi-domain approach to the care of mildly frail older adults will be better than a self-directed program in attenuating the progress of frailty. The trial aims to recruit 390 participants from geriatric medicine clinics across Australia. Ethics approval was obtained in early November, with the first participant expected to be randomised in July 2024.

  • Derivation, Validation and Implementation of a Digital Frailty Index for Acute Care Settings in Queensland

    Older people in hospital are at high risk of adverse outcomes, a vulnerability commonly referred to as frailty. In community-dwelling older people, frailty status can be measured precisely with a Frailty Index score. We are currently leading a research programme to develop a Frailty Index from hospital electronic medical records. This would assist clinicians to identify vulnerable older inpatients, improving their care in the acute setting. This research is funded by an NHMRC Partnership Grant ($1.5M) with Queensland Health Funding period: 2024 - 2029 Role: Lead, Chief Investigator A

  • The ReFIT Study: Reversing Frailty through Transplantation

    This program will provide new insights into the causes of frailty by comparing biological data in older people who are frail, with younger people before and after a kidney transplant. The study is a collaboration between several clinical units at the Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH) and aims to recruit 100 transplant candidates from the PAH Kidney Transplant Service, and 50 older participants from PAH outpatient clinics. This research is funded by an NHMRC Ideas Grant ($1.6M) Funding period: 2023 - 2026 Role: Lead, Chief Investigator A

  • Frailty ADD: Improving Hospital Outcomes for Frail Patients Across Different Disciplines

    This Centre of Research Excellence unites four nodes (in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth) where Australia's strongest academic geriatricians have partnered with discipline experts to build clinical and research programs. lt will investigate the relationship between frailty, medication utilisation and global health outcomes and develop a core outcome set of patient-important outcomes that can be used for all frailty research in any discipline. This new knowledge will be transferred to policy and practice by championing practice change initiatives, piloting implementation studies across different disciplines that will be nested in our Frailty Research and Translation Framework and providing frailty education and training for health care professionals. The CRE will establish a cutting-edge capacity building scaffold to train the next generation of health and medical researchers with the potential to become leaders in their fields. This research is funded by an NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence ($2.5M) with additional strategic funding from UQ ($500k) Funding period: 2022 - 2027 Role: Lead, Chief Investigator A

  • The GOAL Trial

    This cluster randomised controlled trial will test whether Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment by a geriatrician can help frail older patients with CKD improve their health and wellbeing and achieve their own goals. Uniting geriatricians and nephrologists in a cross-disciplinary collaboration for the first time at 15 hospital sites across Australia, the last participant was recruited mid-2023. Follow up is for 12 months and results will be reported in 2025. This research is funded by an NHMRC Targeted Call for Research ($1.6M) Funding period: 2020 - 2025 Role: Lead, Chief Investigator A

Search Professor Ruth Hubbard’s works on UQ eSpace

277 works between 2001 and 2025
All (277) Journal Article (180) Book Chapter (7) Conference Publication (88) Other Outputs (2)

81 - 100 of 277 works

2020

Journal Article

The effect of age on gait speed when texting

Alapatt, Linson J., Peel, Nancye M., Reid, Natasha, Gray, Leonard C. and Hubbard, Ruth E. (2020). The effect of age on gait speed when texting. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17 (2) 599, 599. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17020599

The effect of age on gait speed when texting

2020

Journal Article

Frailty in older adults: moving from measurement to management

Gordon, Emily H. and Hubbard, Ruth E. (2020). Frailty in older adults: moving from measurement to management. Medical Journal of Australia, 213 (7), 314-315. doi: 10.5694/mja2.50778

Frailty in older adults: moving from measurement to management

2020

Journal Article

White matter hyperintensities and the progression of frailty-the Tasmanian study of cognition and gait

Siejka, Timothy P., Srikanth, Velandai K., Hubbard, Ruth E., Moran, Chris, Beare, Richard, Wood, Amanda, Phan, Thanh, Balogun, Saliu and Callisaya, Michele L. (2020). White matter hyperintensities and the progression of frailty-the Tasmanian study of cognition and gait. Journals of Gerontology - Series A Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 75 (8), 1545-1550. doi: 10.1093/GERONA/GLAA024

White matter hyperintensities and the progression of frailty-the Tasmanian study of cognition and gait

2019

Journal Article

Differences in frailty in older men and women

Gordon, Emily H. and Hubbard, Ruth E. (2019). Differences in frailty in older men and women. Medical Journal of Australia, 212 (4) mja2.50466, 183-188. doi: 10.5694/mja2.50466

Differences in frailty in older men and women

2019

Journal Article

Frailty in very old critically ill patients in Australia and New Zealand: a population-based cohort study

Darvall, Jai N., Bellomo, Rinaldo, Paul, Eldho, Subramaniam, Ashwin, Santamaria, John D., Bagshaw, Sean M., Rai, Sumeet, Hubbard, Ruth E. and Pilcher, David (2019). Frailty in very old critically ill patients in Australia and New Zealand: a population-based cohort study. Medical Journal of Australia, 211 (7) mja2.50329, 318-323. doi: 10.5694/mja2.50329

Frailty in very old critically ill patients in Australia and New Zealand: a population-based cohort study

2019

Journal Article

Prospective review to evaluate the impact of medication changes recommended by consultant geriatricians

Poudel, Arjun, Peel, Nancye M., Mitchell, Charles A., Gray, Leonard C., Hubbard, Ruth E. and Nissen, Lisa M. (2019). Prospective review to evaluate the impact of medication changes recommended by consultant geriatricians. Internal Medicine Journal, 49 (7), 935-935. doi: 10.1111/imj.14352

Prospective review to evaluate the impact of medication changes recommended by consultant geriatricians

2019

Journal Article

Prevalence and impact of functional and psychosocial problems in hospitalized adults: a prospective cohort study

Peel, Nancye M., Hornby-Turner, Yvonne C., Henderson, Amanda, Hubbard, Ruth E. and Gray, Leonard C. (2019). Prevalence and impact of functional and psychosocial problems in hospitalized adults: a prospective cohort study. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 20 (10), 1294-1299.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2019.03.012

Prevalence and impact of functional and psychosocial problems in hospitalized adults: a prospective cohort study

2019

Journal Article

Do sex differences in chronic disease underpin the sex-frailty paradox?

Gordon, E. H. and Hubbard, R. E. (2019). Do sex differences in chronic disease underpin the sex-frailty paradox?. Mechanisms of Ageing and Development, 179, 44-50. doi: 10.1016/j.mad.2019.02.004

Do sex differences in chronic disease underpin the sex-frailty paradox?

2019

Journal Article

Utility of probiotics for maintenance or improvement of health status in older people – a scoping review

Setbo, Emerald, Campbell, K., O’Cuiv, P. and Hubbard, R. (2019). Utility of probiotics for maintenance or improvement of health status in older people – a scoping review. Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging, 23 (4), 364-372. doi: 10.1007/s12603-019-1187-9

Utility of probiotics for maintenance or improvement of health status in older people – a scoping review

2019

Journal Article

Interventions to optimise prescribing in older people with dementia: a systematic review

Shafiee Hanjani, Leila, Long, Duncan, Peel, Nancye M., Peeters, Geeske, Freeman, Christopher R. and Hubbard, Ruth E. (2019). Interventions to optimise prescribing in older people with dementia: a systematic review. Drugs & Aging, 36 (3), 247-267. doi: 10.1007/s40266-018-0620-9

Interventions to optimise prescribing in older people with dementia: a systematic review

2019

Conference Publication

Adverse outcome prediction in geriatric rehabilitation using gait speed and frailty index

Arjunan, A., Hubbard, R. and Peel, N. (2019). Adverse outcome prediction in geriatric rehabilitation using gait speed and frailty index. The Australian and New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine Annual Scientific Meeting 2019 “Geriatric Medicine ‐ Best care to the end”, Adelaide, Australia, 13 - 15 May 2019. Richmond, VIC, Australia: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia. doi: 10.1111/ajag.12660

Adverse outcome prediction in geriatric rehabilitation using gait speed and frailty index

2019

Conference Publication

Change in frailty index following a 12-month weight loss intervention in Australian breast cancer survivors

Reid, Natasha, Hubbard, Ruth E., Peel, Nancye and Reeves, Marina (2019). Change in frailty index following a 12-month weight loss intervention in Australian breast cancer survivors. COSA's 46th Annual Scientific Meeting, Adelaide, SA, Australia, 12–14 November 2019. Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell. doi: 10.1111/ajco.13262

Change in frailty index following a 12-month weight loss intervention in Australian breast cancer survivors

2019

Conference Publication

Quantifying the effect of health assets for older community-dwellers

Gunawardana, C., Hubbard, R. E., Peel, N. M., Woods, L. and Zaman, S. (2019). Quantifying the effect of health assets for older community-dwellers. The Australian and New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine Annual Scientific Meeting 2019 “Geriatric Medicine ‐ Best care to the end”, Adelaide, Australia, 13 - 15 May 2019. Richmond, VIC, Australia: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia. doi: 10.1111/ajag.12660

Quantifying the effect of health assets for older community-dwellers

2019

Conference Publication

Therapeutic prevention of fractures after neck of femur fracture - a rehabilitation perspective

Sin, J. C. K., Bell, K., Kelly, L., Gordon, E. and Hubbard, R. (2019). Therapeutic prevention of fractures after neck of femur fracture - a rehabilitation perspective. The Australian and New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine Annual Scientific Meeting 2019 “Geriatric Medicine ‐ Best care to the end”, Adelaide, Australia, 13-15 May 2019. Richmond, VIC, Australia: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia. doi: 10.1111/ajag.12661

Therapeutic prevention of fractures after neck of femur fracture - a rehabilitation perspective

2019

Conference Publication

Comparison of morbidity and mortality outcomes of fractured humerus with fractured neck of femur in older adults

Bukkapatnam, S., Peel, N. M., Ward, S. and Hubbard, R. E. (2019). Comparison of morbidity and mortality outcomes of fractured humerus with fractured neck of femur in older adults. British Geriatrics Society Communications to the Autumn Meeting, London, United Kingdom, 14-16 November 2018. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afy214.05

Comparison of morbidity and mortality outcomes of fractured humerus with fractured neck of femur in older adults

2019

Conference Publication

The Gap - Does gender impact life expectancy and health status in Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders?

Naughton, S., Strivens, E., Hubbard, R., Russell, S., Quigley, R. and Sagigi, B. (2019). The Gap - Does gender impact life expectancy and health status in Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders?. The Australian and New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine Annual Scientific Meeting 2019 “Geriatric Medicine ‐ Best care to the end”, Adelaide, SA, Australia, 13 -15 May 2019. Richmond, VIC, Australia: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia. doi: 10.1111/ajag.12660

The Gap - Does gender impact life expectancy and health status in Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders?

2019

Journal Article

Management of frail older people with acute illness: management of frail older people

Mudge, Alison M. and Hubbard, Ruth E. (2019). Management of frail older people with acute illness: management of frail older people. Internal Medicine Journal, 49 (1), 28-33. doi: 10.1111/imj.14182

Management of frail older people with acute illness: management of frail older people

2018

Journal Article

A frailty index derived from a standardized comprehensive geriatric assessment predicts mortality and aged residential care admission

Burn, Rosie, Hubbard, Ruth E., Scrase, Richard J., Abey-Nesbit, Rebecca K., Peel, Nancye M., Schluter, Philip J. and Jamieson, Hamish A. (2018). A frailty index derived from a standardized comprehensive geriatric assessment predicts mortality and aged residential care admission. BMC Geriatrics, 18 (1) 319. doi: 10.1186/s12877-018-1016-8

A frailty index derived from a standardized comprehensive geriatric assessment predicts mortality and aged residential care admission

2018

Journal Article

Development and testing of the interRAI acute care: A standardized assessment administered by nurses for patients admitted to acute care

Gray, Leonard C, Beattie, Elizabeth, Boscart, Veronique M, Henderson, Amanda, Hornby-Turner, Yvonne C, Hubbard, Ruth E, Wood, Susan and Peel, Nancye M (2018). Development and testing of the interRAI acute care: A standardized assessment administered by nurses for patients admitted to acute care. Health Services Insights, 11, 117863291881883. doi: 10.1177/1178632918818836

Development and testing of the interRAI acute care: A standardized assessment administered by nurses for patients admitted to acute care

2018

Journal Article

Physiological basis for sex differences in frailty

Gordon, E. H. and Hubbard, R. E. (2018). Physiological basis for sex differences in frailty. Current Opinion in Physiology, 6, 10-15. doi: 10.1016/j.cophys.2018.02.013

Physiological basis for sex differences in frailty

Current funding

  • 2025 - 2028
    Alliance for Healthy Ageing (AHA)
    NHMRC MRFF Multidisciplinary Models of Primary Care - (Stream 4)
    Open grant
  • 2025 - 2029
    Strategic Development of Real-Time Frailty Monitoring Technology to Improve Care for Older Australians (MRFF DAAC externally led by USYD)
    University of Sydney
    Open grant
  • 2024 - 2029
    An automatic electronic frailty index in Australian primary care and a toolkit for action
    Bond University
    Open grant
  • 2024 - 2026
    Designing a novel Frailty Model of care for Older Adults with Cancer - exploring opportunities for digital and telehealth options using a value-based health care framework
    World Cancer Research Fund International
    Open grant
  • 2024 - 2029
    Co-creating rainbow-inclusive care for gender & sexually diverse people in residential aged care (MRFF led by Southern Cross University)
    Southern Cross University
    Open grant
  • 2024 - 2025
    Frail-VaS: Core Outcomes Study (Queensland Advancing Clinical Research Fellowship led by Metro South HHS)
    Metro South Hospital and Health Service
    Open grant
  • 2024 - 2028
    Derivation, Validation and Implementation of a Digital Frailty Index for Acute Care Settings in Queensland
    NHMRC Partnership Projects
    Open grant
  • 2024 - 2025
    Sleepless in GARU? An Observational Study to Assess Sleep on the Geriatric and Rehabilitation Unit
    Metro South Health Research Support Scheme Early Career Researcher Grant
    Open grant
  • 2023 - 2025
    Optimising treatment of older persons with acute myeloid leukaemia and myelodysplastic syndromes through the implementation of diagnostic and longitudinal frailty assessments
    Metro South Health Research Support Scheme Project Grant
    Open grant
  • 2023 - 2028
    The Ageing in Prison Longitudinal Study (A-PLUS): health and frailty trajectories of older people in prison (NHMRC CTCS led by UNSW)
    University of New South Wales
    Open grant
  • 2023 - 2025
    Outcomes of importance to frail vascular surgery patients and their caregivers: A longitudinal study (Frail-VaS) (QA CRF externally led by Metro South HHS)
    Metro South Hospital and Health Service
    Open grant
  • 2023 - 2025
    Development and Validation of a Self-Reported Frailty Index (Metro South Health Research Support Scheme (RSS) grant led by Metro South Health HHS)
    Metro South Hospital and Health Service
    Open grant
  • 2023 - 2026
    Organ Transplantation as a Model of Reversible Frailty
    NHMRC IDEAS Grants
    Open grant
  • 2022 - 2026
    INTErGenerational intervention to Reduce fraIlTY trial (INTEGRITY) (NHMRC Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies grant administered by UNSW)
    University of New South Wales
    Open grant
  • 2022 - 2027
    Frailty ADD: Improving Hospital Outcomes for Frail Patients Across Different Disciplines
    NHMRC Centres of Research Excellence
    Open grant
  • 2022 - 2027
    Frailty KIT: An Australian Frailty Network to Create Knowledge, Implement Findings and Support Training
    NHMRC MRFF Dementia, Ageing and Aged Care Mission
    Open grant
  • 2020 - 2025
    Reducing social frailty in late adulthood
    ARC Linkage Projects
    Open grant
  • 2020 - 2025
    The GOAL Trial: Comprehensive geriatric assessment for frail older people with chronic kidney disease to increase attainment of patient-identified goals: A cluster randomised controlled trial
    NHMRC Targeted Research
    Open grant

Past funding

  • 2021 - 2023
    Frailty and kidney Transplantation: measurement and mechanisms (Metro South Health Research Support Scheme (RSS) grant led by Metro South Health HHS)
    Metro South Hospital and Health Service
    Open grant
  • 2020 - 2023
    Increasing Attainment of Patient-Identified Goals through Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment: A Controlled Trial for Frail Older People with Lung Cancer.
    Metro South Hospital and Health Service
    Open grant
  • 2019 - 2023
    Frailty-stratified randomised controlled bayesian adaptive trial of bortezomib versus lenalidomide in transplant-ineligible myeloma - the FRAIL-M study (MRFF LSCD Grant Administered by Monash)
    Monash University
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2019
    Development of a standardised preadmission assessment instrument for surgical patients (led by Ian Scott)
    Brisbane Diamantina Health Partners - Metro South
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2023
    Cluster randomised trial of a multimodal intervention to reduce antimicrobial use in residential aged care facilities
    NHMRC MRFF - Antimicrobial Resistance Targeted Call for Research
    Open grant
  • 2017 - 2018
    Evaluation of the implementation of a nursing assessment system for acute care
    AusHSI Implementation Grants
    Open grant
  • 2016 - 2017
    SoM Leaders Research Support for Head, PA-Southside Clinical School
    Mayne Bequest Fund
    Open grant
  • 2016 - 2018
    Telehealth enabled systems to improve medicines use among persons with cognitive impairment and dementia in residential aged care facilities - 9100000 (NHMRC Partnership Centre administered by USYD)
    University of Sydney
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2017
    Early needs identification of aged care clients in acute care
    Commonwealth Department of Social Services
    Open grant
  • 2014 - 2016
    Risk Stratification of Older People in Hospital: Validation and Influence on Clinical Decision Making
    NHMRC Project Grant
    Open grant
  • 2013 - 2018
    Telehealth in residential aged care facilities: a pragmatic randomised control trial
    NHMRC Project Grant
    Open grant
  • 2012 - 2017
    Clinical Academic Fellowship - Academic Appointment in Telegeriatrics
    Clinical Academic Fellowships
    Open grant

Availability

Professor Ruth Hubbard is:
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Supervision history

Current supervision

Completed supervision

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