Rate My Professor Trent Woodruff

Professor Trent Woodruff is a Professor of Pharmacology and NHMRC Professorial Fellow in the School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Queensland. He earned a Bachelor (Honours) of Science (Advanced) and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Queensland, completing his PhD in 2003 with a thesis titled "Therapeutic activity of a novel C5a receptor antagonist in inflammatory models of disease in rats." His career includes NHMRC Career Development Fellowships and ARC Future Fellowships, leading to his current role heading the Neuroinflammation Laboratory. Woodruff's research centers on the innate immune system in the brain and neuroinflammation's propagation of neurodegenerative diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or motor neuron disease), Huntington’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease, as well as acute inflammatory disorders such as sepsis and ischemia-reperfusion injuries. His team develops and tests potent, orally active inhibitors of complement C5a receptors (C5aR1 and C5aR2) and the NLRP3 inflammasome, demonstrating reduced neuronal cell death and pathology in animal models. Recent findings highlight innate immune factors' roles in stem and neuronal cell development during embryogenesis.

Professor Woodruff has produced over 350 works, with key publications including "Molecular basis of anaphylatoxin binding, activation, and signaling bias at complement receptors" (Cell, 2023), "Senolytic therapy alleviates physiological human brain aging and COVID-19 neuropathology" (Nature Aging, 2023), "SARS-CoV-2 drives NLRP3 inflammasome activation in human microglia through spike protein" (Molecular Psychiatry, 2023), "Inflammasome inhibition prevents α-synuclein pathology and dopaminergic neurodegeneration in mice" (Science Translational Medicine, 2018), and "Complement C5aR1 signaling promotes polarization and proliferation of embryonic neural progenitor cells through PKCζ" (Journal of Neuroscience, 2017). His research garners over 21,500 citations on Google Scholar. Ongoing projects, funded by NHMRC Investigator Grants, ARC Discovery Projects, and Cure for MND Foundation, target innate immune-mediated inflammation in neurodegeneration and related conditions.