This story highlights our giving to the Woods’ alma mater Texas A&M University. Our TAMU giving is wide-ranging, supporting scholarships, biomedical and other scientific research, the development of educational offerings, and overall student life. Below is a sample of the initiatives and projects we fund.
Jet Lag Treatment Research
We fund Dr. Deb Bell-Pedersen’s treatment research on circadian clock disorders. Her project focuses on identifying drugs capable of rapidly resetting the circadian clock phase for potential jet lag therapy and therapeutic approaches to aging-related clock rhythm decline and associated diseases. To date, the study has uncovered compounds with potential applications in treating aging-associated diseases, jet lag, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), and bipolar disorder characterized by reduced sensitivity to light.
Research on the Impact of Brain-Gut Immune Relationships
The emerging field of Brain-Gut Immune (BGI) Interactions holds significant promise for advancing our understanding of the intricate relationships between the brain, immune system, and gut metabolism, offering insights into neurodegenerative and mental health diseases. WoodNext’s funding fosters collaboration among early-career scientists across various labs that can together meaningfully advance this field.
Anti-Gravity Human Centrifuge
WoodNext made a gift to help operationalize a short-arm human-rated centrifuge at the Anthony Wood ’90 Artificial Gravity Lab within the Human Clinical Research Facility at Texas A&M. The centrifuge, initially built and operated by NASA, is part of a broad research effort to better understand the impacts of altered gravitational states on humans. The ultimate goal is to solve health problems experienced during travel to space. Our funding supports the lab’s equipment and personnel for conducting research and assisting external entities, such as NASA, that are interested in the outcomes.
Pharmacy Technician Certification Program
We are excited to support the development of the new Aggie Pharmacy Technician Program (PTP) at Texas A&M’s Irma Lerma Rangel School of Pharmacy. The Aggie PTP was created to help solve the serious pharmacy technician shortage in Texas. The Aggie PTP curriculum is 17 weeks long and includes an apprenticeship component: during the program, students practice in retail or hospital pharmacies what they learn in the classroom and lab. The program will launch in early 2024 with its first cohort.
The Wood Stage
We sponsor the Wood Stage, an outdoor pavilion in Aggie Park, a 20-acre green space at the heart of the university campus. It hosts concerts before every home football game and other events that are free and open to the community.
Scholarships
We have funded several President’s Endowed Scholarships (PES) and Endowed Opportunity Awards (EOA). The PES is a need-blind, four-year scholarship awarded to incoming freshmen who have demonstrated outstanding academic achievements in high school. We also fund 15 EOAs, which are four-year scholarships that typically support middle-income students who often miss out on other need-based funding but still require significant financial support to attend Texas A&M.
In addition to the above, we have also supported the Hagler Institute for Advanced Studies, the Departments of Electrical Engineering and Architecture, Texas A&M Libraries, and the Mays Innovation Research Center.
