Lydia Lynch

Lydia Lynch is a Professor of Molecular Biology at Princeton University and a member of the Ludwig Princeton Branch. She is affiliated with the High Meadows Environmental Institute (HMEI) through its Climate Change and Infectious Disease Initiative. Her research focuses on immunometabolism, exploring interactions between immune and metabolic systems in obesity, diabetes, and cancer. She employs advanced techniques like imaging and whole-body analysis to study these systems in vivo. Lynch’s work bridges innate immune cell regulation of metabolism and metabolic influences on immune function.

Education: B.Sc. (First Class Honors) in Cell Biology and Genetics from University College Dublin (2002); PhD in Immunology from University College Dublin (2008). Professional milestones include the UNESCO-L’Oreal International Women In Science Fellowship (Harvard Medical School, 2008) and the International Marie Curie Fellowship (Harvard, 2009–2013). She established an independent lab at Harvard Medical School/Brigham and Women’s Hospital in 2014.

Research Interests: Obesity and its complications, adipose tissue immune systems, iNKT/NK/T cell roles in metabolic regulation, and tumor microenvironment studies. Her lab investigates how diet and nutrient supplies modulate immune responses through cellular metabolism.

• Awards: Over 15 awards, including the 2023 George L. Blackburn Lecture and 2022 Mark Foundation Emerging Leader Award.
• Labs/Teams: Lynch Lab (focus: immunometabolism convergence).
• Grants/Mentoring: Recipient of Brigham Department of Medicine Mentoring Award (2020); coordinated international collaborative research in obesity and immunology.