Lisa Wood, PhD, RN, is an Adjunct Professor at MGH Institute of Health Professions. She joined the School of Nursing in 2012 as the Amelia Peabody Chair in Nursing Research and Director of the Fatigue Research Lab. She is also a member of the steering committee for the Center for Climate Change, Climate Justice and Health.
She has an established program of research focusing on treatment-related fatigue in people with cancer. Her work is highly interprofessional and involves collaboration among molecular, behavioral, and clinical investigators all working at various points within the spectrum of cancer research.
Dr. Wood holds a PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Glasgow in Scotland and a BS in Nursing from Johns Hopkins. In 2012, she was inducted as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.
- BS Medical Microbiology, University of Dundee, Dundee, Scotland, UK
- BS, Nursing, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, Baltimore, MD
- PhD, Molecular Biology, MRC institute of Virology, University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Research Interests
Dr. Wood has spent several years developing a program of research focused on investigating the molecular origins of fatigue (CTRF), one of the most common side effects of cancer treatment and one that has considerable effects on quality of life, physical functioning, and overall health in cancer survivors. Her research addresses critical gaps in knowledge essential to the development of novel approaches to the prevention and management of CTRF.
In addition to CTRF, fatigue is a common symptom experienced by survivors of stroke. Post-stroke fatigue and CTRF may share common etiological links which are currently being investigated in collaboration with Dr. Qing-Mei Wang and her team in the Spaulding Stroke Biological Recovery Laboratory.
Weyman KB, Wood LJ, Zhu X, & Marks DL. A role for orexin in cytotoxic chemotherapy-induced fatigue. Brain, Behavior & Immunity, 2014 Mar;37:84-94.
Smith LB., Leo MC., Anderson C., Wright TJ., Weymann KB., & Wood, LJ. The role of IL-1β and TNF-α signaling in the genesis of cancer treatment-related symptoms (CTRS); a study using cytokine receptor-deficient mice. Brain, Behavior & Immunity, 2014;38:66-76.
Elsea CR., Kneiss JA., & Wood LJ. Induction of IL-6 by cytotoxic chemotherapy is associated with loss of lean body and fat mass in tumor-free female mice. Biol Res Nurs. 2014 Nov 18. pii: 1099800414558087 [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 25406461. PMCID: Pending.
Wong J., Tran LT., Magun EA., Magun B., & Wood LJ. (2014) Production of IL-1β by Bone Marrow-Derived Macrophages in Response to Chemotherapeutic Drugs: Synergistic Effects of Doxorubicin and Vincristine. Cancer Biol. Ther. 15(10):1-9. PMCID: PMC4130732.
Sturgeon JA., Darnall BD., Zwickey H., Wood LJ., Hanes D., Zava D., & Mackey SM. Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines & DHEA-S in Women with Fibromyalgia: Impact of Psychological Distress and Menopausal Status. Journal of Pain Research. J Pin Res. 2014 Dec 4;7:707-16.