Kristen W. Lynch

Kristen W. Lynch, PhD, is the Benjamin Rush Professor of Biochemistry and Chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. She leads research at the Lynch Lab and co-directs the Institute for RNA Innovation, focusing on RNA processing mechanisms in human immune responses.

• Education: Harvard University (B.A. 1990, Ph.D. 1996)
• Postdoctoral Training: University of California, San Francisco (1997-2001)

Her work bridges RNA splicing, alternative polyadenylation, and gene regulation in immune cells and cancer. She discovered kinase pathways controlling RNA-binding protein (RBP) activity and demonstrated how antigen stimulation and viral infections reprogram splicing networks to modulate immunity. Collaborative studies with oncologists revealed splicing defects phenocopying genetic mutations in leukemias and identified therapeutic vulnerabilities in RNA processing.

Her recent publications highlight TREX-2 complex in mRNA export, hnRNP L repressing cryptic exons, and DDX39B structural analysis. Collaborations span RNA-Seq, splicing codes, and epithelial cell post-transcriptional programs. She explores spliceosomal assembly mechanisms and signal-responsive RBPs in T cells and influenza pathogenesis.