Prof John McNeil announces NIA funding for the world-first ASPREE Clinical Trial, a multi-site, bi-national primary prevention aspirin trial in older adults.

ASPREE investigators launch in Melbourne,  the CSIRO-funded ASPREE Healthy Ageing Biobank, a world-first ‘bank’ of biospecimens from healthy older Australians.

Governor of Victoria, Prof David de Krester, Prof John McNeil (ASPREE) and Prof Peter Mudge (Royal Australian College of General Practitioners), launch the ASPREE Clinical Trial at Government House, Melbourne.

The future Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, local MP, Jacinta Allan and Prof John McNeil launch the ASPREE Clinical Trial Centre in Bendigo.

Members of the Bendigo team conduct study activity in central Victoria.

The ASPREE Clinical Trial Centre in Traralgon, Victoria opens.

Members of the Traralgon team travel to Bairnsdale, Paynesville, and south-west Gippsland.

ASPREE launches a Clinical Trial Centre in Ballarat, Victoria.

Members of the Ballarat ASPREE team conduct study activity in and around the Goldfields region.

Vale Frank Costa, Geelong personality and philanthropist, who helped launch the ASPREE Clinical Trial Centre in his regional city.

Members of the Geelong team conduct study activity in the greater Geelong and Bellarine Peninsula areas.

Victorian Minister, Dr Denis Napthine MP, attends the launch of the Warrnambool ASPREE Clinical Trial Centre.  Members of the Warrnambool team conduct study activity across south-western parts of Victoria, including Hamilton, Port Fairy and Portland and in Mount Gambier, SA.

ASPREE begins recruiting residents living in Melbourne’s northern suburbs into the trial.

ASPREE launches the Wodonga Clinical Trial Centre.

Members of the Wodonga ASPREE team conduct study activities in north-east Victoria and and southern NSW.

Federal Minister,  Hon Mark Butler MP, launches the Adelaide ASPREE Clinical Trial Centre housed at Adelaide University.

Members of the Adelaide ASPREE team conduct study activities in Adelaide and Victor Harbour.

The ASPREE Clinical Trial is officially launced in Mildura.

Members of the ASPREE Melbourne field team regularly travel to Mildura to conduct study activity.

ASPREE launches a Clinical Trial Centre in Wollongong.

The Wollongong team conduct study activities in the Wollongong, Shellharbour and Nowra regions.

International aspirin researcher, Prof Carlo Patrono, gives a key note address at an aspirin and cancer symposium,  hosted by Monash University and the CSIRO.

Recruitment phase of the ASPREE Clinical Trial closes with 19,114 participants:

• 16,703 from 16 sites in south-eastern Australia
• 2,411 from 28 sites in the USA
• Average age is 74 years, with 56% women
• The oldest participant is 98 years

Prof Christina Mitchell, Dean of the Monash Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, and visiting Co-Principal Investigator of the ASPREE trial in the USA, Prof Richard Grimm, officially open the Monash University Biorepository in Melbourne.

The ASPREE Healthy Ageing Biobank, an ASPREE sub-study, stores baseline blood and urine samples from 12,220 ASPREE participants.

Samples are stored in the newly constructed Monash Biorepository.

The intervention period of the ASPREE Clinical Trial closes. 

All participants return study tablets for a final count by members of the ASPREE team. Most continue in the follow-up study, ASPREE-XT (eXTension).

The Australian Clinical Trials Alliance (ACTA) awards ASPREE the ‘Clinical Trial of the Year‘ for its significance to the healthcare of older adults.

ASPREE Executive Officer, A/Prof Robyn Woods accepted the award on behalf of the team of ASPREE researchers and support staff.

ASPREE Principal Investigator, Prof John McNeil accepts the Alfred Research Alliance ‘Highest Impact Factor for Publications‘ award.

In 2018, the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine took the unusual step of publishing 3 separate papers of ASPREE findings at the same time.

The US National Institute of Aging (NIA) funds the follow-up ASPREE-XT study in Australia and the USA until 2024.