A breath of fresh air: The science and policy saving lives from America’s deadliest cancer
Presented by Dr. Douglas Wood
Lung cancer kills nearly 125,000 Americans each year — more than breast, colon and prostate cancers combined. UW Department of Surgery Professor and Chair Dr. Douglas Wood is out to change that.
On Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, the thoracic oncology trailblazer discussed the many ways he and his colleagues are raising lung cancer awareness, increasing access to early detection, and ultimately, working to change lung cancer victims to lung cancer survivors.
Watch the lecture below:
Winner of the UW 2025 University Faculty Lecture Award, Dr. Douglas Wood is the Henry N. Harkins Professor and Chair of the UW Department of Surgery. Dr. Wood has spent his career saving the lives of lung cancer patients — individually as a world-renowned thoracic surgeon and en masse as a national leader in the development and expansion of lung cancer screening.
Read an interview with Dr. Wood about his path to the UW and his important work.