Gordon Lynch
University of Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Professor Lynch is Director of the Centre for Muscle Research in the Department of Physiology at The University of Melbourne. The Centre is a discovery hub for basic science research on skeletal muscle with translationl links across biomedicine, biomedical engineering, food, agriculture and aquaculture. His research encompasses studying muscle adaptation and plasticity, injury and regeneration, and the mechanisms underlying wasting and weakness in diseases and conditions, including ageing, cancer, and the muscular dystrophies.
He completed his BSc (Honours) at La Trobe University (1988), his Ph.D. in Physiology from The University of Melbourne (1992) and postdoctoral training at The University of Michigan (1995-1997) while a NHMRC C.J. Martin Fellow. He was awarded the A.K. McIntyre Medal (1995) from the Australian Physiological Society, an ARC Research Fellowship (1998) and NHMRC R.D. Wright Research Fellowship (1998), before being appointed Lecturer in Physiology at The University of Melbourne (1999). He was promoted to full Professor (2008) and served as Head of the Department of Physiology (2011-2016). He has published >190 papers and reviews (Nature, Cell, Physiological Reviews) and a textbook on Sarcopenia – age-related muscle wasting and weakness. His inspirational mentoring has been recognised through multiple national and University awards.
He co-Founded Fitness2live (2000-2009), one of the world’s first online health companies, later sold to Medibank. He was Research Manager at Medibank Health Solutions (2009-2015), authoring over 1000 health monographs. His weekly national broadcast media work on ABC Radio since 2002 has seen him interviewed on more than 900 occasions and featured in newspapers, magazines, TV news/lifestyle shows and Twitter (@GordonSLynch). He won a National Journalism Award (Asthma Council, 2002), and was a Finalist for Australia’s Eureka Prizes for Promoting Understanding of Science (2006) and Scientific Research (2013). In 2015 he received the Woodward Medal in Science and Technology – the most prestigious award for research excellence at The University of Melbourne. He is currently President of the Australian Physiological Society and Scientific Director of the Australian and New Zealand Society for Sarcopenia and Frailty Research.