Dr. Cynthia Weigel Receives Lina M. Obeid Young Scientist Award at the 58th Southeastern Regional Lipid Conference
Dr. Cynthia, with Dr. Jason Newton, the organizing chair of the 2025 SERLC meeting.
By: Anna Kovilakath
Department of CMGM
VCU School of Medicine
Email: anna.kovilakath@vcuhealth.org
Date: December 16, 2025
Dr. Cynthia Weigel, PhD, an instructor in the laboratory of Dr. Sarah Spiegel in the Department of Cellular, Molecular, and Genetic Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University, was awarded the Lina M. Obeid Young Scientist Award at the 58th Southeastern Regional Lipid Conference (SERLC), held November 5–7, 2025. This prestigious award recognizes outstanding contributions by an early-career investigator in lipid biology.
As part of the award, Dr. Weigel delivered the Lina Obeid Young Scientist Award Lecture on Thursday evening, November 6, titled “The Double Life of Spinster Homolog 2: Sending S1P Out, Bringing Glucose In.” Her lecture highlighted emerging insights into the dual functional roles of Spinster Homolog 2 in sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) transport and cellular metabolism, underscoring the broader impact of lipid signaling pathways in health and disease.
The Lina M. Obeid Young Scientist Award was established in memory of Dr. Lina Marie Obeid (1957–2019), an internationally renowned physician-scientist whose pioneering work transformed the fields of sphingolipid metabolism, apoptosis, aging, and cancer biology. Dr. Obeid was the first to demonstrate a role for ceramide in apoptotic cell death and spent more than three decades defining how bioactive lipids regulate cell fate, stress responses, and disease progression. Beyond her scientific achievements, she was a devoted mentor and a fierce advocate for women in science, mentoring dozens of trainees and junior faculty throughout her career.
The award, generously sponsored by Cayman Chemical, honors Dr. Obeid’s scientific legacy and commitment to mentorship by recognizing junior female investigators who have made significant contributions to lipid research. Dr. Weigel’s selection reflects both the scientific merit of her work and its relevance to the evolving landscape of lipid signaling and metabolism.
Dr. Weigel’s recognition at SERLC highlights the continued strength of CMGM faculty in lipid research and their impact on the broader sphingolipid and metabolic biology communities.