Wei-Lynn Wong (Lynn) hails from Canada. She pursued her undergraduate education at the University of Guelph, participating in the co-operative program, earning a Bachelor of Science degree. Continuing her academic journey, she obtained her PhD from the University of Toronto, conducting research at the Princess Margaret (PM) Cancer Centre, formerly recognized as the Ontario Cancer Institute.
Her postdoctoral years led her to Melbourne, Australia, where she was mentored by John Silke and David Vaux at the Walter & Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research and LaTrobe University. In 2011, she transitioned to Switzerland, assuming the role of a group leader at theInstitute of Experimental Immunology, University of Zurich . After receiving the Clöetta Medical Research fellow, she became Assistant Professor within the same institute in 2016. In 2022, her group moved to the Department of Molecular Life Sciences at the University of Zurich.
The research of her lab explores the vital function of cell demise in maintaining healthy tissue homeostasis. The manner in which a cell meets its end profoundly influences the neighbouring tissue and the immune system’s reaction. Their emphasis lies in pinpointing the regulatory mechanisms governing cell demise signaling and its implications in detecting danger cues and/or generating inflammation, such as activation of the inflammasome or an interferon stimulated gene signature. The lab strives to uncover whether these responses vary across different primary cell types or share commonalities. This has unveiled how multifaceted cell death signaling pathways can often blur the line in regulating cell demise or cellular function.