Woolley and his group are applying microfabrication methods in making microfluidic systems for bioanalysis.
He was then a Cancer Research Fund Runyon-Winchell Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University where he worked with Charles M. Lieber.
Woolley contributed a chapter to Robin Hui Liu and Abraham P. Lee's book Integrated Biochips For DNA Analysis.
In 2007 Woolley was one of 58 recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.
Since the summer of 2010 Woolley has served as an associate chair of BYU's chemistry department.