Rate My Professor Caitlin Wyrwoll

Associate Professor Caitlin Wyrwoll serves in the School of Human Sciences within the Faculty of Science at the University of Western Australia. She earned her PhD at the University of Western Australia under the supervision of Professor Brendan Waddell and Dr Peter Mark. Following her doctoral studies, she conducted postdoctoral research in Edinburgh, United Kingdom, collaborating with Professor Megan Holmes and Professor Jonathan Seckl on stress hormones and fetal brain development. Upon returning to UWA, she established her research group dedicated to exploring the early life origins of health outcomes. Currently, she holds a Stan Perron People Fellowship and acts as a research theme leader in the NHMRC Healthy Environments and Lives Network. From 2016 to 2019, she was Director of Community and Engagement for the School of Human Sciences, overseeing high school engagement, UWA Open Day events, and industry sessions. She coordinates units including APHB5501 Developmental Origins of Adult Health and Disease and ANHB2216 Human Reproductive Biology, and guest lectures in reproductive biology, women's health, physiology, and neuroscience.

Her research investigates the effects of environmental changes, such as climate change, heatwave exposure, and drinking water quality, on maternal adaptations during pregnancy and subsequent child health outcomes. Particular emphasis is placed on placental vascular development, structure, and function, utilizing multidisciplinary approaches including novel imaging techniques and life course tracking to understand programming of cardio-metabolic and neuropsychiatric diseases. As Chief Investigator, she has secured over $15 million in funding from sources including the Wellcome Trust, NHMRC, Channel 7 Telethon Trust, WA Department of Health, Meat and Livestock Australia, and Australian Research Council. Notable grants include leading a $3,345,347 Wellcome Trust project on extreme heat and pregnancy complications (2023–2028) and co-leading the $10 million NHMRC HEAL Network (2022–2027). Key publications encompass 'Prenatal ambient heat exposure and neurodevelopment: A scoping review of human and animal research' (Rhaman et al., 2026, International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health), 'Hot weather, maternal health, and pregnancy experiences, impacts and responses: A systematic review' (Grimshaw et al., 2026, Women and Birth), 'Prenatal nitrate and nitrite intake in mammals: A scoping review' (Kardol et al., 2026), and 'Prolonged exposure to nitrate in drinking water does not adversely impact prenatal or birth outcomes in a rat model' (Kardol et al., 2026, Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology). She has earned recognition including UWA Grand Challenges Champion (2021), UWA Faculty of Science Rising Star (2020), UWA Innovation Fellow (2019), and several teaching awards such as the Student Guild Award for Teaching Excellence (2018) and UWA Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning Citation (2023). Wyrwoll contributes as an expert advisor on water security and food security to parliamentary committees and engages in media and community collaborations, including with Aboriginal organizations.