View source for Biography:Lydia W. S. Finley

{{Short description|American biologist}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name              = Lydia W. S. Finley
| fields            = Metabolism, Stem Cell Biology
| workplaces        = Memorial Sloan Kettering
| doctoral_advisor  = Marcia Haigis
| academic_advisors = Craig Thompson
| awards            = Searle Scholar
| website           = https://www.mskcc.org/research/ski/labs/lydia-finley
}}

'''Lydia W. S. Finley''' is an American scientist and an assistant member at the Cell Biology Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and an assistant professor at Weill Cornell Medical College. Finley is known for her contributions to understanding the [[Biology:Metabolism|metabolic]] underpinnings of [[Biology:Stem cell|stem cell]] fate. 

== Biography ==
Finley received her Bachelor of Science (BS) degree ''summa cum laude'' from [[Organization:Yale University|Yale University]]. Finley completed her [[Social:Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]] at Harvard Medical School, where she worked in the laboratory of Marcia Haigis. Finley then worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of [[Biography:Craig B. Thompson|Craig Thompson]] at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. After completing her postdoctoral work, Finley opened her own laboratory in 2017, which is located in the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lydia Finley, PhD |url=https://psscra.org/winners/lydia-finley-phd/ |access-date=2022-04-09 |website=Pershing Square Foundation |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Lydia Finley {{!}} Haigis Lab |url=https://haigis.hms.harvard.edu/people/lydia-finley |access-date=2022-04-09 |website=haigis.hms.harvard.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |date=2022-04-04 |title=Cell scientist to watch – Lydia Finley |url=https://doi.org/10.1242/jcs.260023 |journal=Journal of Cell Science |volume=135 |issue=7 |pages=jcs260023 |doi=10.1242/jcs.260023 |s2cid=247964605 |issn=0021-9533|doi-access=free }}</ref>

Finley has received various awards for her work. These include the Dale F. Frey Award for Breakthrough Scientists from the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation and the Searle Scholars Award. Finley currently serves as an associate editor for Cancer & Metabolism<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cancer & Metabolism |url=https://cancerandmetabolism.biomedcentral.com/ |access-date=2022-04-09 |website=BioMed Central |language=en}}</ref> and a reviewing editor at [[Biology:ELife|eLife]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Editors for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine |url=https://elifesciences.org/about/people/stem-cells-regenerative-medicine |access-date=2022-04-09 |website=eLife |language=en}}</ref> As of April 2022, Finley has authored over 40 publications and has an [[H-index|h-index]] of 30.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lydia Finley |url=https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=yuzqXb0AAAAJ&hl=en |access-date=2022-04-09 |website=scholar.google.com}}</ref>

== Scientific contributions ==
Finley's research has focused on interrogating the connections between metabolites and their role in regulating embryonic stem cell self-renewal and cell fate decisions. Notably, as a postdoctoral fellow, Finley and Bryce W. Carey discovered that intracellular α-ketoglutarate levels regulated chromatin and gene expression, and contributes to embryonic stem cell renewal.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2022-04-04 |title=Cell scientist to watch – Lydia Finley |url=https://doi.org/10.1242/jcs.260023 |journal=Journal of Cell Science |volume=135 |issue=7 |pages=jcs260023 |doi=10.1242/jcs.260023 |s2cid=247964605 |issn=0021-9533|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Carey |first1=Bryce W. |last2=Finley |first2=Lydia W.S. |last3=Cross |first3=Justin R. |last4=Allis |first4=C. David |last5=Thompson |first5=Craig B. |date=2015-02-19 |title=Intracellular α-ketoglutarate maintains the pluripotency of embryonic stem cells |journal=Nature |volume=518 |issue=7539 |pages=413–416 |doi=10.1038/nature13981 |issn=0028-0836 |pmc=4336218 |pmid=25487152|bibcode=2015Natur.518..413C }}</ref> In 2022, Finley and co-authors published a paper describing a non-canonical arm of the [[Biology:Citric acid cycle|TCA cycle]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Arnold |first1=Paige K. |last2=Jackson |first2=Benjamin T. |last3=Paras |first3=Katrina I. |last4=Brunner |first4=Julia S. |last5=Hart |first5=Madeleine L. |last6=Newsom |first6=Oliver J. |last7=Alibeckoff |first7=Sydney P. |last8=Endress |first8=Jennifer |last9=Drill |first9=Esther |last10=Sullivan |first10=Lucas B. |last11=Finley |first11=Lydia W. S. |date=March 2022 |title=A non-canonical tricarboxylic acid cycle underlies cellular identity |journal=Nature |volume=603 |issue=7901 |pages=477–481 |doi=10.1038/s41586-022-04475-w |issn=1476-4687 |pmc=8934290 |pmid=35264789|bibcode=2022Natur.603..477A }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sloan Kettering Institute Scientists Discover a new twist on an 80-year-old biochemical pathway |url=https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/945933 |access-date=2022-04-09 |website=EurekAlert! |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=New twist on an 80-year-old biochemical pathway |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220309131858.htm |access-date=2022-04-09 |website=ScienceDaily |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Remember Memorizing the Krebs Cycle? An Alternate Version Was Just Discovered {{!}} Cell And Molecular Biology |url=https://www.labroots.com/trending/cell-and-molecular-biology/22405/remember-memorizing-krebs-cycle-alternate-version-discovered |access-date=2022-04-09 |website=Labroots}}</ref>

== Selected awards and honors ==

* National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
* Dale F. Frey Award for Breakthrough Scientists, Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation<ref>{{Cite web |title=Meet Our Scientists |url=https://www.damonrunyon.org/our-impact/current-projects/scientists/3321 |access-date=2022-04-09 |website=Damon Runyon |language=en}}</ref>
* 2018: Searle Scholar<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lydia Finley |url=https://www.searlescholars.net/people/lydia-finley |access-date=2022-04-09 |website=Searle Scholars Program |language=en}}</ref>
* 2020: Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance Award<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lydia Finley, PhD |url=https://psscra.org/winners/lydia-finley-phd/ |access-date=2022-04-09 |website=Pershing Square Foundation |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Selected publications ==

* Carey BW*, '''Finley LW'''*, Cross JR, Allis CD, Thompson CB. Intracellular α-ketoglutarate maintains the pluripotency of embryonic stem cells. ''Nature''. 2015;518(7539):413-416. doi:10.1038/nature13981<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Carey |first1=Bryce W. |last2=Finley |first2=Lydia W.S. |last3=Cross |first3=Justin R. |last4=Allis |first4=C. David |last5=Thompson |first5=Craig B. |date=2015-02-19 |title=Intracellular α-ketoglutarate maintains the pluripotency of embryonic stem cells |journal=Nature |volume=518 |issue=7539 |pages=413–416 |doi=10.1038/nature13981 |issn=0028-0836 |pmc=4336218 |pmid=25487152|bibcode=2015Natur.518..413C }}</ref>
* Arnold PK, Jackson BT, Paras KI, Brunner JS, Hart ML, Newsom OJ, Alibeckoff SP, Endress J, Drill E, Sullivan LB, '''Finley LWS'''. A non-canonical tricarboxylic acid cycle underlies cellular identity. Nature. 2022 Mar;603(7901):477-481. doi: 10.1038/s41586-022-04475-w. Epub 2022 Mar 9. PMID: 35264789; PMCID: PMC8934290.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Arnold |first1=Paige K. |last2=Jackson |first2=Benjamin T. |last3=Paras |first3=Katrina I. |last4=Brunner |first4=Julia S. |last5=Hart |first5=Madeleine L. |last6=Newsom |first6=Oliver J. |last7=Alibeckoff |first7=Sydney P. |last8=Endress |first8=Jennifer |last9=Drill |first9=Esther |last10=Sullivan |first10=Lucas B. |last11=Finley |first11=Lydia W. S. |date=March 2022 |title=A non-canonical tricarboxylic acid cycle underlies cellular identity |journal=Nature |volume=603 |issue=7901 |pages=477–481 |doi=10.1038/s41586-022-04475-w |issn=1476-4687 |pmc=8934290 |pmid=35264789|bibcode=2022Natur.603..477A }}</ref>

== References ==
<references />


{{DEFAULTSORT:Finley, Lydia W. S.}}
[[Category:Cell biologists]]

{{Sourceattribution|Lydia W. S. Finley}}