25 Facts About Teresa Woodruff

Teresa Kaye Woodruff is an American university administrator and medical researcher in human reproduction and oncology, with a focus on ovarian biology, endocrinology, and women's health.

Teresa Woodruff is President Emerita of Michigan State University, having served as interim president from 2022 to 2024.

Teresa Woodruff was previously Dean of the Graduate School and Professor in the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University.

Teresa Woodruff served as the Thomas J Watkins Memorial Professor and Vice Chair for Research and Chief of the Division of Reproductive Science in Medicine in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois.

Teresa Woodruff is credited with coining the term oncofertility and founded the Oncofertility Consortium at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Teresa Woodruff is founder and chief of the Division of Fertility Preservation and founder and director of the Women's Health Research Institute at Northwestern University.

Teresa Woodruff graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology and Chemistry from the Olivet Nazarene University in 1985.

Teresa Woodruff was recognized by Northwestern with their highest honor for an alum, the Northwestern Alumni Association Merit Award in 2012.

In 1986, as a graduate student in the laboratory of Kelly Mayo at Northwestern University, Teresa Woodruff cloned the protein subunits that form the peptide hormones inhibin and activin.

Teresa Woodruff is named as inventor on five patents based on her work at Genentech.

Teresa Woodruff continued her research into the physiology of inhibin and activin in pituitary and ovarian function in rodent and the effects of recombinant human inhibin and activin in primates.

Teresa Woodruff returned to Northwestern University as a faculty member in 1995 to study inhibin and activin actions and interactions within the pituitary-gonadal axis, characterizing the regulation of subunit assembly and ligand processing in the ovary, the ligands' role in paracrine regulation of folliculogenesis, and their signal transduction pathways in the regulation of follicle-stimulating hormone.

At Northwestern University, Teresa Woodruff led a highly collaborative effort that resulted in the development of a hydrogel that acts as a 3-dimensional support system for encapsulated in vitro culture of the ovarian follicle and its enclosed maturing oocyte.

Teresa Woodruff has provided leadership in higher education for over 25 years.

Teresa Woodruff was selected by the Michigan State University Board of Trustees to serve as interim president in 2022.

Teresa Woodruff's vision shifted the admissions process from 'major' to 'mission' and she enhanced the financial aid processes including approval of the Spartan Tuition Advantage program, offering financial aid that covers the full cost of tuition for qualifying students from the state of Michigan.

Teresa Woodruff led the most ambitious expansion of physical spaces at the institution in decades, including a new teaching and learning dairy, greenhouses, the MSU Museum, a new plant science building, a multi-dimensional a multicultural center, a student-focused health and wellness center and an engineering and digital innovation center.

Teresa Woodruff was responsible for the academic progression of over 51,000 students, the professional development of over 5,600 faculty and academic staff, and a multi-billion-dollar budget.

Teresa Woodruff has held multiple senior academic roles including as associate provost of graduate education and dean of the Graduate School at Northwestern University.

Teresa Woodruff created a series of videos for 8- to 12-year-olds covering topics such as puberty, menstruation, and anatomy; a MOOC for college students on reproductive health; and the Repropedia, a dictionary of reproductive science and health terms, created and updated by science and clinician contributors, for links to websites and social media to ensure accurate understanding of key terms by the public.

In 2015, Teresa Woodruff was named the Director of the Center for Reproductive Science at Northwestern University.

In 2025, Teresa Woodruff was a recipient of the National Medal of Science, the first person from Michigan State University to receive the honor.

Teresa Woodruff is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2005 as well as the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering in 2017.

Teresa Woodruff has served on the school board of the Chicago-based Young Women's Leadership Charter School and as president of The Endocrine Society, and was selected as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Endocrinology in September 2017.

Dr Teresa Woodruff has served with the Economic Club of Chicago since 2015 and as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Adler Planetarium since 2018.