Lynn Cooley, Ph.D.
C. N. H. Long Professor of Genetics and Professor of Cell Biology and of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
Dean, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Dr. Lynn Cooley received her B.A. (1976) from Connecticut College and her Ph.D.(1984) from the University of Texas, following research she performed in part with Sterling Professor Dieter Soll’s laboratory in Yale’s Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry. After a postdoctoral fellowship at the Carnegie Institution of Science, she joined Yale University as faculty in the Department of Genetics.
Dr. Cooley’s research has focused on the mechanisms and regulation of oogenesis in the fruit fly Drosophila. In her work she has elucidated numerous aspects of Drosophila biology utilizing techniques for genetic analysis in Drosophila that she has pioneered in her career. Her research has focused on the role of intracellular bridges called ring canals in developing egg chambers, and the regulation of oocyte growth. Accolades that recognize her scientific work include awards from the Pew Charitable Trust, Membership in the Connecticut Academy for Science and Engineering, and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
As a member of the Yale faculty her scholarship has proceeded hand in hand with service to her department, the University, and to the scientific community at large. At Yale she has served as a member of the Biological Sciences Advisory Committee (2005–2007), Director of the Combined Program in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (2001–2014), Director of the Medical Research Scholars Program (2006–2014), and as Director of the China Scholarship Council – Yale World Scholars Program (2006–2014). In the larger scientific world she has served as President of the North America Drosophila Board of Directors (2004–2005), Committee Member of the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation (2008–2011), Council Delegate for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2010–2016), and Member of the Board of Directors of the Genetics Society of America (2013–2015). Most recently, in 2014 she was appointed as Dean of the Yale Graduate School, during which time she has maintained an active research program, continuing to make full use of her perspectives and skills as a acclaimed scientist and engaged academician.
For her past contribution to Yale University, as well as the broader scientific community at large, in so many ways and in so many guises, we are proud to honor Dr. Lynn Cooley as the recipient of the Yale Science & Engineering Award for Meritorious Service to Yale University.