The Tom and Julie Wood Center for Lung Cancer Research is transforming research at Indiana University.
The newly established center will expand efforts in basic science research to understand the complexities of lung cancer at a cellular level, develop innovative lung cancer drugs, support early-phase clinical trials for IU-developed treatments, and expand the lung cancer precision genomics program.
The Tom and Julie Wood Center for Lung Cancer Research was established in March 2024 with a $20 million gift from Julie Wood. The gift honors her late husband, Tom Wood, the well-known Indianapolis auto executive who died of lung cancer in 2010. The Wood Family has given more than $28 million to IU lung cancer research, placing their family among the top four donors to the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Our researchers are working to improve prevention efforts, detect lung cancer earlier and develop personalized therapy to improve the standard of care for lung cancer treatments.
John Turchi, PhD, was named the Tom and Julie Wood Family Foundation Professor of Lung Cancer Research in 2011. Turchi is developing a novel therapy to treat lung cancer.
Nasser Hanna, MD, has served as the Tom and Julie Wood Family Foundation Professor in Lung Cancer Clinical Research since the position was endowed in 2018. In addition to clinical research and trial development, Hanna is the founder of End Lung Cancer Now.
Karen Liby, PhD, the Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Professor of Hematology-Oncology, is focused on finding drug and treatment combinations that can reprogram the immune cells driving cancer growth. Read a Q&A with Dr. Liby.
Shadia Jalal, MD, and Catherine Sears, MD, are leading efforts to expand lung cancer screenings and lung cancer clinical trial access and accrual specifically for Hoosier veterans.
In November 2023, the cancer center announced the Wood Family Foundation would fund a mobile lung cancer screening program, thanks to a $4.5 million gift to the cancer center and IU Health. The mobile program, the only one of its kind in Indiana, is expected to screen its first patient in 2025.
New funding from the $20 million gift will ensure that the mission of End Lung Cancer Now, an initiative of the cancer center, will continue. The mission is to educate and empower patient advocates to eliminate tobacco use in Indiana, screen all eligible patients with chest CT scans, and dramatically increase participation in lung cancer research.
Tom Wood, a Michigan native, graduate of Western Michigan University and a veteran of the United States Army, began his business career as a used car salesman in Michigan. Eventually, he moved to Indianapolis to enter the new car business, which expanded greatly over the years. Wood was owner and CEO of Tom Wood Automotive Group. He was recognized by TIME Magazine for his community and philanthropic work, including his support of the Indiana Children’s Wish Fund.
In 2006, Wood was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer. Initially, a doctor told him there was nothing more to be done but keep him comfortable. But at IU, his physician Lawrence H. Einhorn, MD, told the family he believed Wood was strong enough to fight the disease. Research provided options — and hope — for Wood and his family.
After his death, Tom's wife of 51 years established the Tom and Julie Wood Family Foundation to memorialize Tom, who was a beloved husband, father and grandfather.
