Baylor Chemist John L. Wood, Ph.D., Designated University Distinguished Professor

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Baylor University Provost Nancy Brickhouse, Ph.D., announced today that John L. Wood, Ph.D., The Robert A. Welch Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and co-director of the Baylor Synthesis and Drug-Lead Discovery Lab, has been designated as University Distinguished Professor, the highest honor bestowed on Baylor faculty. Provost Brickhouse announced the honor for Wood during the spring faculty meeting on Feb. 4.

University Distinguished Professors are recognized for their advancement of Baylor’s mission through outstanding achievement in scholarship and/or creative activity as evidenced by exceptional national and international recognition in their respective disciplines or at the intersection of multiple disciplines. In addition, these faculty contribute to the professional development of colleagues and serve as a passionate mentor for colleagues and students.

“I am deeply honored to be named as a University Distinguished Professor at Baylor,” Wood said. “This honor, based upon my career, is one that I share with my wife, Jill, and three sons, as well as the extraordinarily talented undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students with whom I have had the privilege to work alongside for the past 32 years. The love, dedication and creativity of this talented group coupled with the unwavering support and commitment from my faculty colleagues and Baylor’s administration are at the heart of our achievements.”

Groundbreaking research using natural products

Wood’s research focuses on the chemical synthesis of compounds isolated from nature (natural products) that possess complex structures and interesting biological properties (anticancer, antibiotic, etc.). Through the exercise of engineering syntheses for these molecules, students in the Wood Laboratory develop skills that enable them to prepare new drugs, agrochemicals, organic materials or flavors and fragrances. Many major brand-name drugs, Wood noted, have been developed based upon natural products that were first discovered in medicinally important plants or microorganisms and then subsequently modified by chemists to improve their efficacy and safety profiles. By developing laboratory syntheses of natural products, Wood enables further studies that can, in turn, advance the understanding of their bioactivity. 

“The chemical synthesis of naturally occurring molecules has led chemists to make important advances in areas ranging from drug development to materials science,” Wood said. “No matter how many times they are targeted for synthesis or successfully prepared, they continue to fuel creativity and scientific achievement in our field and beyond.”

The University Distinguished Professor designation includes dean nomination and input of a selection committee with a designated membership that includes faculty members. The Provost expects a maximum of two University Distinguished Professor appointments in each two-year cycle. Mikeal Parsons, Ph.D., University Distinguished Professor and The Kidd L. and Buna Hitchcock Macon Professor of Religion at Baylor, received the inaugural title in 2023.

“This designation carries significant expectations for excellence and Dr. Wood’s accomplishments certainly meet that high bar,” Provost Brickhouse said. “The award acknowledges Dr. Wood’s outstanding contributions to the field as the co-director of the Baylor Synthesis and Drug-Led Discovery Lab, and his continued leadership on campus, around the U.S. and internationally. On a personal note, this hits close to home for me because his accomplishments are in the area of bio-inspired organic synthesis – which was the topic of my undergraduate research in chemistry at Baylor.”

Wood received his B.S. from the University of Colorado-Boulder and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. He joined Baylor in 2013 after two decades on the faculties at Yale University and Colorado State. His appointment at Baylor was made possible in part by a $4.2 million grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT).

He and fellow chemist Daniel S. Romo, Ph.D., The Schotts Professor of Chemistry, co-direct the Baylor Synthesis and Drug-Lead Discovery Laboratory, which focuses on the development and application of chemo- and site-selective methods for the derivatization of biologically and pharmacologically important natural products and other bioactive small molecules. Since derivatization for structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies and reaction optimization play fundamental roles in drug discovery, the laboratory’s high-throughput capabilities drive collaboration and discovery among an interdisciplinary group of researchers extending beyond Baylor to both the national and international levels.

In 2023, the American Chemical Society recognized Wood with the Ernest Guenther Award for outstanding achievements in the analysis, structure elucidation and chemical synthesis of natural products.  Past recipients of this award include five Nobel Prize laureates: Derek H.R. Barton, Konrad E. Bloch, John Cornforth, Elias J. Corey and Satoshi Omura.

He has received numerous additional honors and awards throughout his career, including a Fellowship in the Royal Society of Chemistry, Honorary Member of the Sociedad Argentina de Investigacion en Quimica Organica, American Chemical Society Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award and Outstanding Faculty Scholar at Baylor in 2019.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. Learn more about Baylor University at www.baylor.edu. 

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