Cole Woody, a sophomore biology major in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at the University of Houston who is breaking new ground in cancer research, has been awarded a Barry Goldwater Scholarship, one of the nation’s most prestigious awards for students focused on research in natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering.
Woody’s research focuses on the development of potential cancer vaccines through chimeric RNAs and, more specifically, how cancers can be more aggressively targeted by a vaccine.
“Chemotherapy is like a nuclear bomb. It’s not specific, and it damages healthy cells,” said Woody. “These vaccines are more like a sniper. A lot more precise, only targeting cancer and leaving the rest unaffected.”
Woody developed the MHCole Pipeline, a bioinformatic tool that predicts peptide-HLA binding affinities with nearly 100% improvement in data processing efficiency. The goal of the MHCole Pipeline is to find cancer-specific targets and develop personalized vaccines to help patients have a better chance at survival and a much smaller chance of recurrence.
“Cole’s work ethic and dedication are unmatched,” said Preethi Gunaratne, director of the UH Sequencing Core and professor of Biology & Biochemistry at NSM who is mentoring Woody. “He consistently worked 60-70 hours a week, committing himself to learning new techniques and coding the MHCole pipeline.”
Woody, who is a junior research associate at the UH Sequencing Core, also works in Dr. Steven Hsesheng Lin’s lab at MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Woody plans to earn his MD-PhD and has already been accepted into the Harvard/MIT MD-PhD Early Access to Research Training (HEART) program. He will be working under Dr. Arlene Sharpe, the Chair of Immunology at Harvard Medical School, studying how genetic engineering can be used to make cancer vaccines more effective.
“Most of the principal investigators I know who lead labs at the National Institute of Health are MD-PhDs, and that’s something I’m interested in doing in the future,” said Woody.
Woody hopes the vaccines he is developing and the MHCole Pipeline’s specific and personalized approach to care will give patients the shot they deserve to live.
"Cole’s ability to independently design and implement such a transformative tool at such an early stage in his career demonstrates his exceptional technical acumen and creative problem-solving skills, which should go a long way towards a promising career in immuno-oncology,” said Gunaratne.
Story by Ashley Byers, NSM