Holly Fernandez Lynch

Holly Fernandez Lynch is the John Russell Dickson, MD Presidential Associate Professor of Medical Ethics in the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. She also holds the title of Associate Professor of Law and is a Senior Fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics. She serves as Assistant Faculty Director of Online Education in her department and as Vice-Chair for Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

• Bachelor's degree from University of Pennsylvania (C’03)
• J.D. from Penn Carey Law (L’06)
• Master of Bioethics (MBE’06) from University of Pennsylvania

Her research centers on the ethical and regulatory dimensions of human subjects research. Key areas include payment to research participants, use of biospecimens, social media in research, patient-engaged research, and IRB effectiveness. She also investigates ethical issues in health care gatekeeping, particularly access to investigational therapies outside clinical trials. Her interdisciplinary work bridges bioethics, law, and health policy.

While specific articles are not listed, her publication record spans top journals including JAMA, The New England Journal of Medicine, Science, Health Affairs, and The American Journal of Bioethics, reflecting a strong presence in bioethics, health law, and medical policy.

• Greenwall Faculty Scholar (2019)
• Levy Scholar in Law and Bioethics

Fernandez Lynch founded and co-chairs the Consortium to Advance Effective Research Ethics Oversight (AEREO), established in 2018, promoting innovation in IRB practices. She has advised on national policy as a member of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Human Research Protections (SACHRP) from 2014–2019 and continues on a subcommittee. She is set to join the Board of PRIM&R, the leading organization for IRB professionals. She has received research support through her Greenwall Faculty Scholars award to study health care gatekeeping ethics.

She has played a leadership role in Penn’s online master’s degree in health care innovation and previously served as Executive Director of the Petrie-Flom Center at Harvard Law School and as Teaching Faculty in Harvard Medical School’s Master of Bioethics program. She has also worked as an attorney in pharmaceutical regulation and as a bioethicist at the NIH and the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues.