Dr. Lynch is the Director of the UCSF Benioff Center for Microbiome Medicine and exemplifies the benefits of studying human biology at a range of scales, from “ecosystems to molecules.” Her translational research program has deepened our understanding of the role of the microbiome in allergy and asthma with a particular focus on the establishment of the microbiome early in life. Her team has identified microbes that could be administered to high-risk infants for prevention of childhood allergy and asthma, leading to a spin-off company. She talks about the importance of microbiology for understanding human biology and her path from environmental microbial ecology to the human microbiome.