Nancy Fugate Woods is emerita professor in Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Informatics at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

. She previously served as the

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the University of Washington's nursing program and as the president of the

American Academy of Nursing The American Academy of Nursing (AAN) is a professional organization that generates, synthesizes, and disseminates nursing knowledge to contribute to health policy and practice for the benefit of the public and the nursing profession. Founded in 1 ...

Education and honorary degrees

Woods graduated with a B.S. from the

University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

, an M.N. from the

, and a Ph.D in epidemiology from the

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. She has received honorary doctorates from three institutions: the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, the

University of Haifa The University of Haifa ( he, אוניברסיטת חיפה Arabic: جامعة حيفا) is a university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation in 1972, becoming Is ...

, and

Chiang Mai University Chiang Mai University ( CMU; th, มหาวิทยาลัยเชียงใหม่) is a public research university in northern Thailand founded in 1964. It has a strong emphasis on engineering, science, agriculture, and medicine. It ...

Work

Woods has researched issues relating to women's health since the 1970s. Her research has shed light on

menstrual The menstrual cycle is a series of natural changes in hormone production and the structures of the uterus and ovaries of the female reproductive system that make pregnancy possible. The ovarian cycle controls the production and release of eggs a ...

cycle

symptoms Signs and symptoms are the observed or detectable signs, and experienced symptoms of an disease, illness, injury, or condition. A sign for example may be a higher or lower temperature than normal, raised or lowered blood pressure or an abnormali ...

and has given new insight into the role personal factors play in understanding menstrual symptoms. Woods also improved the understanding of the transition to menopause. Her research is credited with having "led the development of women's health as a field of study in nursing science." Woods currently teaches Women's Health

Physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

, Research Design for Studying

Therapeutics A therapy or medical treatment (often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx) is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. As a rule, each therapy has indications and contraindications. There are many different ...

, and Women's Health Issues. Woods is the

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

of several important books on women's

healthcare Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

including ''Culture, Society, and Menstruation,'' ''Women's Healthcare in Advanced Practice Nursing'', ''Human Sexuality in Health and Illness'' and ''Nursing Research: Theory and Practice''. Over the course of her career, Woods has served as the President of the

, President of the North American Menopause Society, President of the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research, and as Dean of the

's nursing program. She was also elected to the

Institute of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly called the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, E ...

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

Award

In 2017, Woods was named a Living Legend of the American Academy of Nursing.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woods, Nancy Fugate Living people University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire alumni Fellows of the American Academy of Nursing American nurses American women nurses University of Washington faculty Year of birth missing (living people) Nursing school deans Nursing educators Nursing researchers UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health alumni University of Washington School of Nursing alumni University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire alumni American women academics Women deans (academic) American university and college faculty deans 21st-century American women