Neal Woodbury is vice president and chief science & technology officer for ASU’s Knowledge Enterprise. In this capacity, he advances ASU’s high-level research initiatives and activities.
Throughout the course of his 33-year tenure with ASU, Woodbury has been a trusted resource and advocate for ASU’s research enterprise, regularly advising ASU leadership on issues related to the university’s major research activities. He has been responsible for developing new, large-scale, collaborative projects, as well as facilitating broad interactions between the Knowledge Enterprise and ASU’s academic units.
Woodbury is concurrently a senior global futures scientist with the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory and a faculty member in the Biodesign Center for Innovations in Medicine, the School of Molecular Sciences and the Global Security Initiative. He previously served as deputy director of the Biodesign Institute and has a well earned reputation as an astute and engaged leader. Woodbury is also past CEO of Science Foundation Arizona, a role in which he helped advance the goals of SFAz as a force for promoting science, high-tech industry and STEM education across Arizona.
An esteemed researcher, Woodbury has published more than 165 scientific works. He is an expert in electron transfer and photosynthesis, and he has expanded his vast research repertoire as a human disease detective, co-founding HealthTell with ASU Professor Stephen Johnston. HealthTell focused on a diagnostic technology known as immunosignaturing, which involves fabrication of large numbers of peptides or related heteropolymers on silicon wafers. The resulting peptide arrays are the basis of a diagnostic platform that generates a comprehensive profile of circulating antibodies.
In addition to his academic and research achievements, Woodbury is a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors and holds seven patents. He completed his PhD in biochemistry at the University of Washington and holds a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from the University of California at Davis.
Chemical Diversity: A major competency of BON is in the creation, generation and searching of chemical space. We have multiple methods for accomplishing this. We are currently using the technique of mRNA display to search libraries of peptides and proteins as large as 1013-14 and select those with the desired traits. We have also developed the capability to synthetically create libraries on the order of 106 peptides or other synthetic chemical structures using the kind of light directed synthesis that is used in the generation of DNA chips. We have generalized the chemistry to be used for other kinds of compounds that can be constructed from building block components.
Synthetic Antibodies (Synbodies): We are collaborating with the Biodesign Institute's Center for Innovations in Medicine to apply our chemical diversity capability to the production of synthetic antibodies. Here, we use various methods to search chemical space for weak binders and then orient them to create systems with high affinity and specificity, mimicking antibody function.
Creation Generation of Catalysts for Energy Conversion using Patterned Synthesis: We have utilized our directed synthetic chemical diversity platform (described above) to create tens of thousands of potential electro-catalysts directly on electrodes. We are synthesizing libraries of metal binding peptides to search for new water splitting catalysts that mimic the activity of the oxygen evolving complex of photosystem II in collaboration with ASU professors James Allen and JoAnn Williams of the chemistry and biochemistry department and Trevor Thornton of the electrical engineering department.
Optically Directed Cellular Evolution: We are also extending our optical patterning of chemistry to cells. We have developed a means of patterning cell growth on a surface using the photolyase repair system to affect light activated rescue from cell death. This makes it possible to observe a large number of cells on a surface and then select a subset to allow to grow while killing the remainder.
Ultrafast Laser Spectroscopy and Microscopy: BON members manage ASU�"s ultrafast laser spectroscopy and microscopy facility, and this represents another of our key competencies. The facility is well equipped with state-of-arts ultrafast lasers and detection systems, including 2 transient absorption spectrometers, a kilohertz femtosecond up-conversion apparatus, a single photon counting system, a streak camera fluorescence FLIM spectrometer, 2 microscope systems for single molecule spectroscopy. Here it is possible to perform femtosecond timescale spectroscopy in many different forms (absorbance, fluorescence, etc.) both in solution, on surfaces, in living cells or tissues and at the single molecule level.
The Role of Protein Dynamics in Photosynthetic Electron Transfer: We have a fundamental program in the study of the ultrafast electron transfer reactions of bacterial photosynthetic reaction centers. This work utilizes ASU�"s ultrafast laser facility to follow these electron transfer reactions on the femtosecond to picosecond timescale. Recently, we have discovered that the kinetics of electron transfer in this system is directly limited by protein motion and we are continuing to explore how this complex protein dance serves to mediate biochemical reaction.
Analyzing the Structure and Dynamics of Chromatin: The critical role of chromatin structure in controlling gene expression is becoming more and more evident. Of particular interest to us is the dynamics of the DNA/protein interaction in the nucleosome, the most elemental chromatin structural component. We are using single molecule spectroscopy and AFM to explore the structure and dynamics of these particles as a function of DNA sequence and under the influence of transcription factors that affect gene expression. This work is done in collaboration with the Biodesign Institute's Center for Single Molecule Biophysics (Stuart Lindsay and with Dennis Lohr in ASU's chemistry and biochemistry department).
Summer 2022 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
BDE 792 | Research |
Spring 2022 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
PHY 792 | Research |
BDE 792 | Research |
BDE 795 | Continuing Registration |
PHY 799 | Dissertation |
BDE 799 | Dissertation |
Fall 2021 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
BCH 494 | Special Topics |
BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
BCH 598 | Special Topics |
Summer 2021 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
BDE 792 | Research |
Spring 2021 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
PHY 792 | Research |
BDE 792 | Research |
PHY 799 | Dissertation |
BDE 799 | Dissertation |
Fall 2020 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
Summer 2020 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
BDE 792 | Research |
Spring 2020 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
CHM 584 | Internship |
CHM 590 | Reading and Conference |
BCH 592 | Research |
CHM 592 | Research |
BCH 593 | Applied Project |
CHM 595 | Continuing Registration |
BCH 599 | Thesis |
CHM 599 | Thesis |
PHY 792 | Research |
BCH 792 | Research |
CHM 792 | Research |
BDE 792 | Research |
CHM 795 | Continuing Registration |
PHY 799 | Dissertation |
BCH 799 | Dissertation |
CHM 799 | Dissertation |
BDE 799 | Dissertation |
Fall 2019 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
CHM 501 | Current Topics in Chemistry |
CHM 584 | Internship |
BCH 592 | Research |
CHM 592 | Research |
BCH 593 | Applied Project |
CHM 593 | Applied Project |
BCH 599 | Thesis |
CHM 599 | Thesis |
CHM 784 | Internship |
CHM 790 | Reading and Conference |
BCH 792 | Research |
CHM 792 | Research |
CHM 795 | Continuing Registration |
CHM 799 | Dissertation |
BCH 799 | Dissertation |
Summer 2019 | |
---|---|
Course Number | Course Title |
CHM 584 | Internship |
BCH 592 | Research |
CHM 592 | Research |
CHM 593 | Applied Project |
CHM 599 | Thesis |
CHM 784 | Internship |
CHM 790 | Reading and Conference |
PHY 792 | Research |
BCH 792 | Research |
CHM 792 | Research |
CHM 795 | Continuing Registration |
BCH 799 | Dissertation |
CHM 799 | Dissertation |
Spring 2019 | |
---|---|
Course Number | Course Title |
CHM 584 | Internship |
CHM 590 | Reading and Conference |
BCH 592 | Research |
CHM 592 | Research |
CHM 593 | Applied Project |
BCH 593 | Applied Project |
CHM 595 | Continuing Registration |
BCH 599 | Thesis |
CHM 599 | Thesis |
CHM 790 | Reading and Conference |
PHY 792 | Research |
BDE 792 | Research |
CHM 792 | Research |
BCH 792 | Research |
CHM 795 | Continuing Registration |
PHY 799 | Dissertation |
BCH 799 | Dissertation |
CHM 799 | Dissertation |
BDE 799 | Dissertation |
Fall 2018 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
CHM 501 | Current Topics in Chemistry |
CHM 584 | Internship |
BCH 592 | Research |
CHM 592 | Research |
BCH 593 | Applied Project |
CHM 593 | Applied Project |
BCH 599 | Thesis |
CHM 599 | Thesis |
CHM 784 | Internship |
CHM 790 | Reading and Conference |
BCH 792 | Research |
CHM 792 | Research |
CHM 795 | Continuing Registration |
CHM 799 | Dissertation |
BCH 799 | Dissertation |
Summer 2018 | |
---|---|
Course Number | Course Title |
CHM 584 | Internship |
CHM 592 | Research |
BCH 592 | Research |
CHM 593 | Applied Project |
CHM 599 | Thesis |
CHM 784 | Internship |
CHM 790 | Reading and Conference |
PHY 792 | Research |
CHM 792 | Research |
BCH 792 | Research |
CHM 799 | Dissertation |
BCH 799 | Dissertation |
Spring 2018 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
BCH 462 | General Biochemistry |
CHM 584 | Internship |
CHM 590 | Reading and Conference |
CHM 592 | Research |
BCH 592 | Research |
CHM 593 | Applied Project |
BCH 593 | Applied Project |
CHM 595 | Continuing Registration |
BCH 599 | Thesis |
CHM 599 | Thesis |
CHM 790 | Reading and Conference |
CHM 792 | Research |
PHY 792 | Research |
BCH 792 | Research |
CHM 795 | Continuing Registration |
PHY 799 | Dissertation |
BCH 799 | Dissertation |
CHM 799 | Dissertation |
Fall 2017 | |
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Course Number | Course Title |
BCH 462 | General Biochemistry |
BIO 495 | Undergraduate Research |
CHM 501 | Current Topics in Chemistry |
CHM 584 | Internship |
BCH 592 | Research |
CHM 592 | Research |
BCH 593 | Applied Project |
CHM 593 | Applied Project |
BCH 599 | Thesis |
CHM 599 | Thesis |
CHM 784 | Internship |
CHM 790 | Reading and Conference |
BCH 792 | Research |
CHM 792 | Research |
CHM 795 | Continuing Registration |
PHY 799 | Dissertation |
CHM 799 | Dissertation |
BCH 799 | Dissertation |