Lily Huynh/The Cougar
There is nothing biology senior Cole Woody finds more fascinating than the immune system.
Woody, the recipient of the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and the Phi Beta Kappa Key into Public Service Scholarship, has contributed to breakthrough research showing that the COVID-19 vaccine can train patients’ immune systems to eliminate cancer.
As he enters his senior year, Woody reflects that the key event that catalyzed his success was joining his first lab, the UH Sequencing Core.
“I don’t think I’d be where I am now if I didn’t join that initial lab, and the main reason for that is it gave me a lot of independence to explore and learn how to become a capable researcher extremely early on in my career,” Woody said. “I think having that confidence so early on allowed me to then apply and work in other labs.”
He describes the initial process of getting into a lab as a “gamble”, especially when applying with no research experience and without having completed foundational biology and chemistry coursework.
Accepting that uncertainty and choosing to reach out anyway, Woody says, makes the journey a lot more manageable.
“It is perfectly fine to admit that you are a capable individual, and sometimes it can be due to various circumstances, they don’t have the bandwidth to take on new people,” Woody said. “Getting into a lab so early on does take a certain level of luck. There are factors outside of your control, and no matter how much you worry, it’s not ever going to change that.”
Building on the foundational research experience he gained in that first lab, Woody went on to work at the National Institutes of Health the summer after freshman year and from there, at Harvard Medical School and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Quickly, he was hooked by the promise posed by the immune system and fell in love with cancer research.
“Growing up in proximity to Houston, we always hear about cancer research and you kind of have this desire to distance yourself from it,” Woody said. “But once I had actually taken my first steps of doing cancer research, then I was like ‘wow, I can understand why so many people do this’.”
Woody says he loves the creativity and limitless possibilities of the research process, as well as the persistent complexity and unknowability of the human body.
And as his research career has progressed, Woody has taken on the identity of both mentee and mentor.
“Paying it forward is very common within research, but especially with medicine, which is just trying to provide others the resources you wish you would have had when you were first starting off,” Woody said. “I find that really rewarding. It’s a really great way to give back to the community, but also foster a community of your own.”
One mentor Woody highlights as crucial in his journey is biology and biochemistry professor Preethi Gunaratne, who directs the UH Sequencing Core.
Gunaratne remembers being impressed by Woody’s initiative when he reached out to her the summer before his freshman year, asking to join her lab. Woody started on a volunteer basis but soon earned his spot.
“He found out that we were using multiple bioinformatics platforms to figure out which set of peptides will be best to personalize to the patients and he noticed that running each one and integrating took time,” Gunaratne said. “He wrote a code to stitch it up. When the semester started, he was in the game.”
Woody has also earned recognition from his peers. Psychology alumna Bianca Aguilar calls Woody a “light” in her life.
“He’s definitely shown me what the value of hard work is, because I’ve seen those results just pay off for him time and time again,” Aguilar said. “I think he gives me hope for the future.”
Woody is currently studying abroad with economics and mathematics senior Khushi Vora, who is also a long-time friend of Woody’s. The two are both Tier One Scholars and became close in sophomore year.
Vora says that in addition to his work ethic and resilience, Woody has inspired her to think more deeply about topics like justice.
“He really cares about underrepresented communities and the types of people that he’s working with in his labs,” Vora said. “I think I got to realize that he’s smart, but he is also very caring and humane in that way.”
In the future, Woody plans to pursue an MD-PhD, which will allow him to combine his love of medicine with his passion for research.
His advice for freshmen? That health and happiness come first. Woody, for instance, crochets and knits for fun. And when it’s time to return to the lab, Woody embraces a growth mindset.
“Just because you can’t do something at this very moment doesn’t mean that you won’t be capable of doing it in the future,” Woody said. “You are a capable individual. And if you are not capable of doing something today in this very moment, that’s fine. But what matters is that you put in the work to become that individual who is capable of doing that thing.”
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