Amina Sara Woods (nee El Damati), of Baltimore, Maryland, passed away on Monday, March 31st, 2025, at the age of 81. She is survived by her husband, Robin Lee Woods; daughter, Nadine Franks; and grandson, Noah Berne. She was predeceased by her parents, Salakh El Damati and Mary Azubel.

Amina’s remarkable career as a scientist was defined by her tireless dedication to improving the lives of others. She made significant contributions to the fields of traumatic brain injury research, Fentanyl intervention technologies, and pharmacological advancements. Her work continues to inspire the medical community. Amina was known not only for her brilliance but for her generosity and humility, always striving to make a difference without seeking recognition. Outside of her scientific achievements, Amina was an animal lover, especially fond of cats, and often went out of her way to care for wildlife in her neighborhood. Her kindness extended beyond people to all creatures, great and small. She will be missed dearly by her many friends who always knew her to be the special person she was.

A celebration of life will be held at Sol Levinson’s Chapel, 8900 Reisterstown Road, Pikesville, MD 21208, on Monday, April 7th, 2025, at 1:00 pm. Please omit flowers. Contributions in her memory may be sent to the National Audubon Society, online at audubon.org, or to the Sierra Club, online at sierraclub.org, or to Maryland Public Television, online at mpt.org.
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It is with deep sadness that I write these words after hearing of the passing of Amina Woods. I do not remember precisely when I first met Amina, but it was through the WBMSDG sometime in the late 80s. It was clear that she was an intelligent and passionate scientist, who the had the ability to make her case and defend it with evidence. At the same time, she was open-minded and recognized that with new knowledge comes new understanding and necessary adjustments to our view of how things worked. Later, Amina and I were instructors, in a group of people led by Larry Phillips and Kim Kelley, for the Introduction to Mass Spectrometry Short Course presented annually at the ASMS meeting (and locally on occasion) on behalf of the WBMSDG. She was a patient and thorough instructor; her teaching reflected her humane nature. Teaching the course with Amina afforded me the opportunity to get to know her better. She wasn’t just passionate about science; clearly she applied the same approach to many things in life. You always knew where Amina stood, and anything she cared to speak about was well-supported by the facts. She was a strong supporter of free speech and human rights, among many other things. I was fortunate to learn many things from her, be it from stories about her youth and education, or from discussions about the interesting scientific work she conducted throughout the years. Our career paths and responsibilities took us in different directions over recent years and I have not seen her for some time, but I can say that we are all diminished by her loss. The world was a better place with Amina Woods in it.

John Callahan
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Amina co-organized the WBMSDG in 1999-2000 and was a speaker in 1996, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2011 and 2018.