Professor Woodward graduated from the Utah State University and Willamette University College of Law. He began teaching part-time at UWS in 2020 in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Currently, professor Woodward teaches medical ethics and jurisprudence to 9th quarter students. His research as a bioethicist has been primarily focused on industry disruptive biotechnology advancements and their ethical, moral and legal implications. His published works include a bioethical analyses of the current US laws regarding the use of advanced genetic engineering techniques such as CRISPR-Cas9 on human fetuses. Outside of his teaching responsibilities, professor Woodward practices law full-time in downtown Portland at Smith Freed & Eberhard as a civil litigator and trial attorney.
Not originally from the PNW, he grew up in the high desert of Price, Utah on the Colorado Plateau relocating to Oregon for Law School. Off campus, he enjoys spending time with his wife and kids or hunched over a geological map as an avid amateur fossil hunter, preparer and curator being a member of both the North American Research Group (NARG) and the Castle Valley chapter of the Utah Friends of Paleontology. He also enjoys reading and is a big fan of the Star Wars books, films, comics and podcasts as well as all the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien and is willing to spend hours discussing, lecturing or debating over them.
