View source for 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 Medicine|Weill Cornell Medical College]]. Finley is known for her contributions to understanding the [[Metabolism|metabolic]] underpinnings of [[stem cell]] fate.
== Biography ==
Finley received her [[Bachelor of Science]] (BS) degree ''[[summa cum laude]]'' from [[Yale University]]. Finley completed her [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]] at [[Harvard Medical School]], where she worked in the laboratory of Marcia Haigis. Finley then worked as a [[Postdoctoral Fellow|postdoctoral fellow]] in the laboratory of [[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 name="Lydia Finley, PhD - Pershing Square Foundation">{{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 name="Cell scientist to watch – Lydia Finley">{{Cite journal |date=2022-04-04 |title=Cell scientist to watch – Lydia Finley |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 Program|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 [[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]] 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 name="Cell scientist to watch – Lydia Finley" /><ref name="Nature518-7539">{{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 [[Citric acid cycle|TCA cycle]].<ref name="pmid35264789">{{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 Scholars Program|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 name="Lydia Finley, PhD - Pershing Square Foundation" />
== 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 name="Nature518-7539" />
* 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 name="pmid35264789" />
== References ==
<references />
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:21st-century American biologists]]
[[Category:Yale University alumni]]
[[Category:Harvard Medical School alumni]]
[[Category:American editors]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finley, Lydia W. S.}}
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American cell biologists]]
[[Category:Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center faculty]]
[[Category:Weill Medical College of Cornell University faculty]]
[[Category:American women biologists]]
[[Category:21st-century American women scientists]]
[[Category:Stem cell researchers]]