Alexis Wood

Wood

Alexis Wood, Ph.D, F.A.H.A.

Associate Professor

Email

alexis.wood@bcm.edu

Positions

Associate Professor
Pediatrics-Nutrition
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX, US

Addresses

Children's Nutrition Research Center (Office)
Room: CNRC-2036
Houston, TX, 77030
United States
Phone: (713) 798-7055

Education

BS from University of Warwick
06/2002 - Coventry, United Kingdom
Psychology and Philosophy
MS from Kings College London
10/2006 - London
Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry
PhD from Kings College London
10/2009 - London
Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry
Post-Doctoral Fellowship at University of Alabama at Birmingham
06/2012 - Birmingham, Alabama
Statistical Genetics, Epidemiology

Honors & Awards

Conference Award Finalist
MD Anderson Energy Balance Retreat (02/2014)
Scott Grundy Award for Excellence in Metabolism Research
American Heart Association (03/2013)
2nd place
UAB Annual Postdoctoral Research Day (02/2012)
1st Place
NORC “Creativity is Decision" (06/2011)
1st Place
Center for Cardiovascular Disease Biology Annual Retreat (05/2011)
2nd place
Center for Cardiovascular Disease Biology Annual Retreat (05/2011)
1st Place
SOPH 3rd Annual Public Health Research day (04/2011)
Young Investigator Award Finalist
American Heart Association EPI/NPAM conference (03/2011)
Young Investigator Award
2nd Annual International Congress on ADHD (05/2009)
Best paper winner
Our paper "Cognitive performance and BMI: shared genetics between BMI and reaction time, but not response inhibition, across childhood" was selected as one of 6 winning entries to the society's annual conference and featured in a special symposium.
The Obesity Society (11/2014)
Associate Faculty Member F1000 Prime
Appointed an Associate Faculty Member of the Faculty of 1000 http://f1000.com/
F1000 Prime (09/2014)
Mark Bieber Award for Excellence in Nutrition Research
American Heart Association (03/2015)
Fellow of The American Heart Association
(09/2017)
Young Investigator Award
Baylor College of Medicine -- Department of Pediatrics (12/2020)
Top abstract
CVRI annual conference (04/2017)
Top rated abstract
Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research Investigator Meeting (12/2025)
Research Mentor Champion
Student Opportunities for Advancement in Research (SOAR) Office at Baylor College of Medicine (12/2025)
Outstanding Reviewer Award
Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (10/2025)

Professional Statement

My research focuses on analyzing complex biological data such as genome, epigenome, transcriptome, metabolome, and proteome to explore how environmental and behavioral factors influence chronic diseases. I am particularly interested in cognitive development and decline, including Alzheimer's Disease and related dementias (ADRD), as well as type 2 diabetes (T2D). My overarching aim is to advance Precision Medicine by improving disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment strategies.

Websites

Feeding children during the COVID-19 pandemic
Healthy Habits: Boxing, weightlifting and family time keep Dr. Alexis Wood active
AHA News: Healthy Food for At-Home Students Starts With This
NCBI Publications List
Alexis (Lekki) Wood Lab

Selected Publications

Memberships

American Heart Association
American Society of Nutrition

Funding

Longitudinal associations of preschoolers’ technology and digital media (TDM) use and executive functioning: a mechanism linking TDM with young children’s weight status
#NIH P01 HD109876
(09/09/2022 - 09/08/2027)
Grant funding from NIH
Role: MPI (Wood, Hughes & Bridgett).
Molecular Markers of Beef Intake: A Personalized Nutrition Approach to Understanding the Relationship of Red Meat to Health
#70348-I
(10/01/2023 - 09/30/2025)
Beef Checkoff
Role: PI
Subclinical Vascular Contributions to Alzheimer's Disease: The Multi Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) Multisite Study of AD
#R01 AG058969
(07/01/2024 - 06/30/2029)
NIH-NIA
Role: Site PI
Longitudinal Omics-Based Trajectories of Type 2 Diabetes Subtypes: The T2D Heterogeneity Consortium
#U01 DK058969
(07/01/2024 - 06/30/2029)
NIH-NIDDK
Role: MPI (Manning, Wood, Qi, Rotter). Our overarching goal is to integrate clinical and multi-omic data into prediabetes and type 2 diabetes classification and build prediction models of disease trajectories over the lifespan. Our central hypothesis is that multi-omic data can refine definitions of type 2 diabetes, identify those patients most like to develop complications, and better identify people at risk for future development of type 2 diabetes. Our approach is to apply sophisticated clustering in diverse, longitudinal cohorts over rich omics data to identify subgroups of individuals who develop type 2 diabetes.
Multiethnic and multiomics analysis of longitudinal changes in DNA methylation and Cardiovascular health
#1R01HL176728-01A1
(09/17/2025 - 09/16/2029)
Grant funding from NIH-NHLBI
Role: Site PI (PI: Ma) The proposed project will integrate longitudinal change in DNA methylation with behavioral and clinical cardiovascular health factors, genetic and multi-omics markers, and adjudicated cardiovascular disease and death events in ~13,500 participants with diverse backgrounds from four well-established population-based studies. Our analysis will establish temporal relationships to facilitate the identification of the causal DNA methylation loci for cardiovascular disease.
Diet and Neurocognitive Development: A Metabolomic Enhanced Analysis
#3092-51000-063-000D
(09/01/2024 - 08/31/2029)
Grant funding from USDA/ARS
Role: PI This project will (1) leverage existing observational data on over 8,000 US and European children, available from The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) study, and examine associations between parent-reported dietary intake with metabolome-wide metabolites from ages 12-24m; and (2) establish a new longitudinal cohort of toddlers in Houston, TX and measure their metabolome and cognitive development. Together these data will be used to examine associations between dietary intake from 12-24m of age, and of diet-related metabolites, with cognitive functioning at 18-24m in order to inform the development and refinement of natinale-level dietary guidelines for this age group.
Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), Coordinating Center – Task Area A – Core Study Operations
#75N92020D00001-0-759202500001-1
(04/12/2025 - 04/11/2034)
Grant funding from NIH-NHLBI

Log In to edit your profile