Dr. Woodley was trained in Dermatology in Chapel Hill at the University of North Carolina. He was a Research Fellow at the University of Paris/Rothschild Institute for two years and an Expert Investigator at the National Institutes of Health. He later joined the dermatology faculty at the University of North Carolina where he started the Phototherapy Unit for the treatment of psoriasis.

In 1988, he became professor and vice chair of the Department of Dermatology at Stanford University and ran the Stanford Psoriasis Center and the Immunodermatology Lab. In 1992, he was appointed the Walter J. Hamlin Professor and Chair of the Department of Dermatology at Northwestern University.

In 1999, he joined USC as professor and co-chief of the Division of Dermatology. In 2005, dermatology became an independent academic department, and Dr. Woodley was appointed professor and chair of the new department. He has published over 165 scientific papers and has had continuous NIH funding since 1982.