Holly Fernandez Lynch JD, MBE
Associate Professor of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Senior Fellow, Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, University of Pennsylvania
Affiliated Faculty, Center for Technology, Innovation, and Competition, Penn Carey Law School
Associate Faculty Director, Online Education Initiatives, Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
Faculty Search Advisor, Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
Department: Medical Ethics and Health Policy
Contact information
Blockley Hall, Room 1426
423 Guardian Drive
Philadelphia, PA 19104
423 Guardian Drive
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Office: 215-746-7327
Links
A resource for locating diverse, underrepresented bioethics scholars
Public website for the Advancing Effective Research Ethics Oversight (AEREO) Consortium
A resource for locating diverse, underrepresented bioethics scholars
Public website for the Advancing Effective Research Ethics Oversight (AEREO) Consortium
Education:
BA (Health and Societies)
University of Pennsylvania College of Arts and Sciences, 2003.
JD (Law)
University of Pennsylvania Law School, 2006.
MBE (Bioethics)
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 2006.
Permanent linkBA (Health and Societies)
University of Pennsylvania College of Arts and Sciences, 2003.
JD (Law)
University of Pennsylvania Law School, 2006.
MBE (Bioethics)
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 2006.
Selected Publications
Lynch HF: "Fewer Drugs, More Chaos: One Year Under the New FDA" Endpoints News Post-Hoc Live (podcast) January 2026 Notes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NXX14EXa6I.Dhruva SS, Dusetzina SB, Phillips KA, Lynch HF: FDA’s Role in Supporting Therapeutic Development to Address Unmet Needs: The National Academies Report and Beyond. Health Affairs Scholar In press 2026 Notes: Peer reviewed.
Mohammad T, Lynch HF: Institutional Review Board Obligations Regarding Study Funding Sufficiency. Ethics & Human Research In press 2026.
Lynch HF, Ramachandran R, Sachs R, Joffe S, Zettler PJ: The Promise and Perils of FDA’s New ‘Plausible Mechanism’ Pathway (Part 2). Health Affairs Forefront In press 2026.
Lynch HF, Ramachandran R, Sachs R, Joffe S, Zettler PJ : The Promise and Perils of FDA’s New ‘Plausible Mechanism’ Pathway (Part 1). Health Affairs Forefront In press 2026.
Hu X, Robertson C, Bateman-House A, Lynch HF: Balancing Scientific Uncertainty and Demand for Psychedelic Medicines (chapter). Law and Policy of Psychedelic Medicine. Cohen IG, Marks M, McGuire AL (eds.). Cambridge University Press, In press 2026.
Lynch HF, Ramachandran R: By loosening standards, the FDA isn’t doing rare-disease patients any favors. LA Times October 2025 Notes: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2025-10-19/fda-approval-rare-disease-drugs-treatments.
Lynch HF: How Fast Is Too Fast for FDA Drug Review? "Common sense" and the FDA Commissioner's National Priority Voucher Program. MedPage Today June 2025 Notes: https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/second-opinions/116218?trw=no.
Lynch HF, Tillman I, Summers E, Mah E: Viewpoint: Preserving Research Ethics Oversight Amid Decimation of the Research Enterprise. JAMA 333(24): 2143-2144, 2025 Notes: Peer reviewed.
Abadie R, Anderson E, Eberts J, Lynch HF, Fisher J, Gelinas L, Largent E, McNair L: Pursuing Fair and Just Compensation for Research Participants: An Open Letter to the Research Ethics Community. American Journal of Bioethics 25(7): 3-7, 2025.