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)

141 - 160 of 277 works

2017

Journal Article

Development of a protocol for telehealth Residential Medication Management Reviews to enable collaboration of pharmacists and geriatricians

Freeman, Christopher R., Peel, Nancye M., Watts, Jacqueline N., Gaee-Atefi, Taralina A., Caffery, Liam J., Hubbard, Ruth E., Hilmer, Sarah N. and Gray, Len C. (2017). Development of a protocol for telehealth Residential Medication Management Reviews to enable collaboration of pharmacists and geriatricians. Journal of Pharmacy Practice and Research, 47 (2), 153-157. doi: 10.1002/jppr.1335

Development of a protocol for telehealth Residential Medication Management Reviews to enable collaboration of pharmacists and geriatricians

2017

Conference Publication

Associations of 12-year trajectories of sitting time with frailty in Australian middle-aged women

Susanto, Maja, Hubbard, Ruth E. and Gardiner, Paul (2017). Associations of 12-year trajectories of sitting time with frailty in Australian middle-aged women. HOBOKEN: WILEY.

Associations of 12-year trajectories of sitting time with frailty in Australian middle-aged women

2017

Conference Publication

Clinical characteristics of older people referred for specialist geriatric consultation

Peel, Nancye M., Watts, Jacqueline N., Hubbard, Ruth E. and Gray, Leonard C. (2017). Clinical characteristics of older people referred for specialist geriatric consultation. HOBOKEN: WILEY.

Clinical characteristics of older people referred for specialist geriatric consultation

2017

Journal Article

Sex differences in frailty: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Gordon, E. H., Peel, N. M., Samanta, M., Theou, O., Howlett, S. E. and Hubbard, R. E. (2017). Sex differences in frailty: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Experimental Gerontology, 89, 30-40. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2016.12.021

Sex differences in frailty: a systematic review and meta-analysis

2017

Journal Article

CHERISH (collaboration for hospitalised elders reducing the impact of stays in hospital): protocol for a multi-site improvement program to reduce geriatric syndromes in older inpatients

Mudge, Alison M., Banks, Merrilyn D., Barnett, Adrian G., Blackberry, Irene, Graves, Nicholas, Green, Theresa, Harvey, Gillian, Hubbard, Ruth E., Inouye, Sharon K., Kurrle, Sue, Lim, Kwang, McRae, Prue, Peel, Nancye M., Suna, Jessica and Young, Adrienne M. (2017). CHERISH (collaboration for hospitalised elders reducing the impact of stays in hospital): protocol for a multi-site improvement program to reduce geriatric syndromes in older inpatients. BMC Geriatrics, 17 (1) 11, 11. doi: 10.1186/s12877-016-0399-7

CHERISH (collaboration for hospitalised elders reducing the impact of stays in hospital): protocol for a multi-site improvement program to reduce geriatric syndromes in older inpatients

2017

Conference Publication

The association between gait speed and cognitive impairment in community-dwelling older people: a systematic review

Alapatt, L. J., Hubbard, R. and Peel, N. (2017). The association between gait speed and cognitive impairment in community-dwelling older people: a systematic review. The Australian & New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine Annual Scientific Meeting “Older People's Care through Community, Collaboration & Communication”, Rotorua, New Zealand, 10–12 May 2017. Hoboken, NJ United States: Wiley.

The association between gait speed and cognitive impairment in community-dwelling older people: a systematic review

2017

Conference Publication

Prognostic significance of a gait speed of zero

Arjunan, A., Peel, N. and Hubbard, R. (2017). Prognostic significance of a gait speed of zero. The Australian & New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine Annual Scientific Meeting “Older People's Care through Community, Collaboration & Communication”, Rotorua, New Zealand, 10–12 May 2017. Hoboken, NJ United States: Wiley.

Prognostic significance of a gait speed of zero

2017

Conference Publication

Frailty and cerebral small vessel disease: A cross-sectional analysis of the Tasmanian Study of Cognition and Gait (TASCOG)

Siejka, Timothy, Srikanth, Velandai, Hubbard, Ruth, Moran, Chris, Beare, Richard, Thanh Phan and Callisaya, Michele (2017). Frailty and cerebral small vessel disease: A cross-sectional analysis of the Tasmanian Study of Cognition and Gait (TASCOG). First Australia and New Zealand Conference on Sarcopenia and Frailty Research, Albert Park, Melbourne, VIC, 11–12 November 2016. Richmond, VIC Australia: Wiley.

Frailty and cerebral small vessel disease: A cross-sectional analysis of the Tasmanian Study of Cognition and Gait (TASCOG)

2017

Journal Article

Frailty and chronic kidney disease: a systematic review

Chowdhury, Rakin, Peel, Nancye M., Krosch, Mitchell and Hubbard, Ruth E. (2017). Frailty and chronic kidney disease: a systematic review. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 68 (3), 135-142. doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2016.10.007

Frailty and chronic kidney disease: a systematic review

2017

Conference Publication

The male-female health-survival paradox in hospitalised older adults

Gordon, E., Peel, N. and Hubbard, R. (2017). The male-female health-survival paradox in hospitalised older adults. The Australian & New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine Annual Scientific Meeting “Older People's Care through Community, Collaboration & Communication”, Rotorua, New Zealand, 10-12 May 2017. Hoboken, NJ United States: Wiley-Blackwell.

The male-female health-survival paradox in hospitalised older adults

2017

Conference Publication

The Frailty Index of cumulative health deficits: Derivation from the interRAI acute care instrument

Hubbard, Ruth E., Peel, Nancye M., Samanta, Mayukh, Gray, Leonard C., Fries, Brant E., Mitnitski, Arnold and Rockwood, Kenneth (2017). The Frailty Index of cumulative health deficits: Derivation from the interRAI acute care instrument. First Australia and New Zealand Conference on Sarcopenia and Frailty Research, Melbourne, VIC Australia, 11-12 November 2016. Richmond, VIC Australia: John Wiley & Sons.

The Frailty Index of cumulative health deficits: Derivation from the interRAI acute care instrument

2017

Conference Publication

Health assets in frail older patients

Gregorevic, Kate, Peel, Nancye M., Lim, W. K., Tacey, Mark and Hubbard, Ruth E. (2017). Health assets in frail older patients. First Australia and New Zealand Conference on Sarcopenia and Frailty Research, Melbourne, VIC Australia, 11-12 November 2016. Richmond, VIC Australia: John Wiley & Sons.

Health assets in frail older patients

2017

Book Chapter

Frailty and comorbidities: frailty in women

Navarro-Pardo, Esperanza, Villacampa-Fernández, Patricia, Hubbard, Ruth E. and Gordon, Emily (2017). Frailty and comorbidities: frailty in women. Menopause: a comprehensive approach. (pp. 303-315) edited by Antonio Cano. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-59318-0_19

Frailty and comorbidities: frailty in women

2017

Conference Publication

Feasibility and validity of frailty measurement in geriatric rehabilitation

Arjunan, A., Peel, N. and Hubbard, R. (2017). Feasibility and validity of frailty measurement in geriatric rehabilitation. The Australian & New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine Annual Scientific Meeting “Older People's Care through Community, Collaboration & Communication”, Rotorua, New Zealand, 10–12 May 2017. Hoboken, NJ United States: Wiley.

Feasibility and validity of frailty measurement in geriatric rehabilitation

2016

Journal Article

Are health assets associated with improved outcomes for hospitalised older adults? A systematic review

Gregorevic, Kate J., Lim, Wen Kwang, Peel, Nancye M., Martin, Ruth S. and Hubbard, Ruth E. (2016). Are health assets associated with improved outcomes for hospitalised older adults? A systematic review. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 67, 14-20. doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2016.06.016

Are health assets associated with improved outcomes for hospitalised older adults? A systematic review

2016

Journal Article

Algorithm of medication review in frail older people: focus on minimizing the use of high-risk medications

Poudel, Arjun, Ballokova, Anna, Hubbard, Ruth E., Gray, Leonard C., Mitchell, Charles A., Nissen, Lisa M. and Scott, Ian A. (2016). Algorithm of medication review in frail older people: focus on minimizing the use of high-risk medications. Geriatrics and Gerontology International, 16 (9), 1002-1013. doi: 10.1111/ggi.12589

Algorithm of medication review in frail older people: focus on minimizing the use of high-risk medications

2016

Journal Article

Frailty and post-operative outcomes in older surgical patients: a systematic review

Lin, Hui-Shan, Watts, J. N., Peel, N. M. and Hubbard, R. E. (2016). Frailty and post-operative outcomes in older surgical patients: a systematic review. BMC Geriatrics, 16 (1) 157, 157. doi: 10.1186/s12877-016-0329-8

Frailty and post-operative outcomes in older surgical patients: a systematic review

2016

Journal Article

Adverse outcomes in relation to polypharmacy in robust and frail older hospital patients

Poudel, Arjun, Peel, Nancye M., Nissen, Lisa M., Mitchell, Charles A., Gray, Leonard C. and Hubbard, Ruth E. (2016). Adverse outcomes in relation to polypharmacy in robust and frail older hospital patients. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 17 (8), 767.e9-767.e13. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2016.05.017

Adverse outcomes in relation to polypharmacy in robust and frail older hospital patients

2016

Journal Article

Associations of guideline recommended medications for acute coronary syndromes with fall-related hospitalizations and cardiovascular events in older women with ischemic heart disease

Peeters, Geeske, Tett, Susan E., Hollingworth, Samantha A., Gnjidic, Danijela, Hilmer, Sarah N., Dobson, Annette J. and Hubbard, Ruth E. (2016). Associations of guideline recommended medications for acute coronary syndromes with fall-related hospitalizations and cardiovascular events in older women with ischemic heart disease. Journals of Gerontology - Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 72 (2), 259-265. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glw111

Associations of guideline recommended medications for acute coronary syndromes with fall-related hospitalizations and cardiovascular events in older women with ischemic heart disease

2016

Journal Article

The clinical frailty scale predicts functional decline and mortality when used by junior medical staff: a prospective cohort study

Gregorevic, Kate J., Hubbard, Ruth E., Katz, Benny and Lim, Wen K. (2016). The clinical frailty scale predicts functional decline and mortality when used by junior medical staff: a prospective cohort study. Bmc Geriatrics, 16 (1) 117, 117. doi: 10.1186/s12877-016-0292-4

The clinical frailty scale predicts functional decline and mortality when used by junior medical staff: a prospective cohort study

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:
Available for supervision

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Supervision history

Current supervision

Completed supervision

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