Ed Woodward

Air Force

University of South Florida

M.D.

“I know what it’s like to fight for your life. As a doctor, I’ll get to be the one who stands between a patient and their affliction.”

After distinguished tours for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, Ed suffered a severe traumatic brain injury during a training mission. The injury forced him into early medical retirement when he was only five flights away from becoming an F-15 pilot. This experience changed his entire life.

During a difficult recovery process, Ed was forced to confront serious personal setbacks. But it was keeping alive the dream of his twin brother Gene, who was tragically killed by a drunk driver during his first year of medical school, that helped him persevere. Gene’s mission to help others combined with his own service injury has inspired Ed to re-focus his life and start the path to medical school. Help support scholars like Ed today.