Heather Lynch, 2019 Blavatnik National Awards Laureate in Life Sciences

Quantitative ecologist, Heather Lynch, PhD, from Stony Brook University monitors Antarctic penguin populations using field surveys in concert with satellite imagery that can track the size of penguin colonies on the ground. Using advanced mathematical modeling and data on the spatiotemporal patterns of penguin populations, Dr. Lynch can detect population declines predictive of penguin colony collapse. She discovered one of the largest undetected colonies of Adélie penguins off the Danger Islands in Antarctica. Her work is particular importance as this species provides key data on the health of the Southern Ocean ecosystem.

Directed by Roni Katz Frydman (Israel)