Principal Investigator
Professor Karen L. Wooley leads the Wooley Research Group in polymer chemistry, sustainable materials, nanostructured systems, and translational polymer science.
Professor Karen L. Wooley
W.T. Doherty-Welch Professor Chair and Distinguished Professor of Chemistry
- Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
- Director, TAMU Laboratory for Synthetic-Biologic Interactions
- TIPS ETF Research Superiority Researcher
Karen Wooley holds the W. T. Doherty-Welch Chair in Chemistry and is a University Distinguished Professor at Texas A&M University. She also has joint appointments in the Departments of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science & Engineering. Wooley studied at Oregon State University (B.S., 1988) and Cornell University (Ph.D., 1993). As an undergraduate, she engaged in natural product total synthesis research in the laboratory of Steven J. Gould (deceased), and she then shifted to macromolecular chemistry with a focus on the synthesis and characterization of dendritic and hyperbranched polymers during Ph.D. studies under the direction of Jean M. J. Fréchet.
The first sixteen years of her independent academic career were spent at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri and she then relocated to Texas A&M University in July 2009. In addition to her academic positions, she is a co-founder and President of Sugar Plastics, LLC, and Chief Technology Officer of Teysha Technologies, Ltd. Research interests include the synthesis and characterization of degradable polymers derived from natural products, unique macromolecular architectures, complex polymer assemblies, and well-defined nanostructured materials.
She has designed synthetic strategies to harness the rich compositional, regiochemical and stereochemical complexity of natural products for the construction of hydrolytically-degradable polymers, which have impact toward sustainability, reduction of reliance on petrochemicals, and production of biologically-beneficial and environmentally-benign natural products upon degradation – these materials are expected to impact the global issue of plastic pollution and address challenges resulting from climate change. Recent awards include election as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2015), National Academy of Inventors (2019), American Association for the Advancement of Science (2020), American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (2020), National Academy of Sciences (2020), and National Academy of Engineering (2026); she was also named as the 2021 Southeastern Conference (SEC) Professor of the Year.
Awards
- Member, National Academy of Engineering (NAE), 2026-present
- Citation Laureates 2023, Chemistry, "For the development of innovative drug and gene targeting and delivery methods", Clarivate Plc, 2023
- Outstanding Career Award, College of Arts and Sciences, Texas A&M University, 2023
- Eminent Scholar Award, Aggie Women Network, Texas A&M University, 2021
- SEC Professor of the Year, Southeastern Conference on behalf of Texas A&M University, 2021
- Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 2020-present
- Member, National Academy of Sciences (NAS), 2020-present
- Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), 2020-present
- Fellow, National Academy of Inventors (NAI), 2019-present
- Nominee for the National Postdoctoral Association Garnett-Powers & Associates, Inc. Mentor Award, 2018
- Presidential Impact Fellow, Lifetime Entitlement, Inaugural Class, Texas A&M University, 2017-present
- Distinguished Research Achievement Award, Texas A&M University
- American Academy of Arts & Sciences Fellow, 2015-present
- Texas A&M University Distinguished Professor, 2011-present
- Oesper Award, University of Cincinnati Department of Chemistry, 2015
- Honorary Fellow of the Chinese Chemical Society, 2014-present
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, 2014-present
- Royal Society of Chemistry Centenary Prize 2014
- Texas A&M System Technology Commercialization Innovation Award, 2014
- Associate Editor, J. Am. Chem. Soc, 2014-present
- American Chemical Society Award in Polymer Chemistry, 2014
- American Chemical Society, Polymer Chemistry Division, Herman F. Mark Scholar Award, 2009
- Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award in Organic Chemistry, 2002