CHICAGO --- The Alumnae of Northwestern Award for 2008 has been presented to Teresa Woodruff, the Thomas J. Watkins Memorial Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. The award is presented annually to an alumna who has made outstanding contributions and received international recognition in her field.

Woodruff is the director of the Feinberg School's Institute of Women's Health Research and chief of Feinberg's fertility preservation division. She is also professor biochemistry, molecular biology and cell biology in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.

In addition, Woodruff directs Northwestern's Center for Reproductive Research. The major goals of her laboratory are to identify the mechanisms underlying ovarian follicle development, selection and recruitment and to provide new angles on ovarian disease and fertility conserving options for women.

She is principal investigator of the National Institutes of Health-funded Oncofertility Consortium, a comprehensive national research program to address the needs of young cancer patients who want to preserve their fertility.

Woodruff is a recognized leader in fertility research worldwide. She is the basic science deputy editor for Fertility and Sterility (2008-present) and a member of several editorial boards. Her awards include the Distinguished Teaching Award from Northwestern University and the Endocrine Society's Richard E. Weitzman Memorial Award. Dr. Woodruff has published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers as well as 40 editorials and book chapters. She also edited the book Oncofertility (Springer, 2007).