Teresa K. Woodruff, PhD, Elected to Fellowship of the Royal Society, American Philosophical Society

Endocrine Society Past-President, Teresa K. Woodruff, PhD, has been elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society and the American Philosophical Society (APS).

The Royal Society, one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious scientific institutions, includes some of the most influential scientists in history, such as Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein. APS is the the oldest learned society in the United States, founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin.

Woodruff served as president of the Endocrine Society from 2013 to 2014, and as editor-in-chief of Endocrinology. In 2021, Woodruff received the Endocrine Society’s Gerald D. Aurbach Laureate Award for Outstanding Translational Research for “seminal discoveries about gonadal structure, function, and hormones, as well as female fertility and its regulation.”

Currently, Woodruff is an MSU Research Foundation Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology in the College of Human Medicine and the Department of Biomedical Engineering in the College of Engineering. She served as MSU provost beginning in August 2020 and is currently president emerita of the university.

“Today, young cancer patients can expect a consult from an oncofertility specialist, and I am honored to have worked with so many caring scientists and clinicians to make these real-world outcomes a reality.”

 Reflecting on her election to the Royal Society and to the APS, Woodruff said she was “surprised and humbled,” adding that it reflects the work of her lab and colleagues over many years, as well as the urgent need that led to her founding the field of oncofertility. She coined the phrase to describe the merging of cancer and fertility research and translating that work into an internationally recognized medical discipline. The field helps cancer patients preserve their ability to have a family after fertility-threatening treatments.

“This is the 20th anniversary since I coined the term ‘oncofertility,’” she says. “Today, young cancer patients can expect a consult from an oncofertility specialist, and I am honored to have worked with so many caring scientists and clinicians to make these real-world outcomes a reality.”

In this work, she leads the global Oncofertility Consortium, an international network dedicated to advancing fertility preservation worldwide.

Her research has produced landmark discoveries in reproductive biology, including the identification of the “zinc spark” at fertilization with MSU Research Foundation Distinguished Professor Tom O’Halloran and breakthroughs in maturing ovarian follicles outside the body, contributing to new fertility preservation strategies.

Woodruff has received numerous honors for her scientific leadership, including the National Medal of Science, the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Mentoring, election to the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Inventors.

For Woodruff, the impact on patients remains the most significant measure of her work. “I believe the promise of fundamental science in medicine is that tomorrow’s patient is treated better than today’s,” she says. “That is the distinction that matters most.”

Looking ahead, Woodruff continues to lead active research at MSU. Her lab is focused on uncovering the mechanisms behind zinc’s role in egg development, building on the discovery of the zinc spark. She adds, “There is tremendous excitement around where this work can lead.”

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