Blythe spent her undergraduate years at a rival Jesuit University, Boston College. After obtaining a BS in Biology and a BA in Secondary Education, she moved to DC to pursue a PhD in Cellular and Microbial Biology at The Catholic University of America. During this time, she studied the cell biology of alcoholic liver disease. Following her graduation in 2011, Blythe traveled north to Baltimore to pursue a postdoctoral fellowship in Renal Physiology at Johns Hopkins University. Blythe spent 6 years in the laboratory of Dr. Jennifer Pluznick where she discovered that an olfactory receptor (just like the ones in your nose) is expressed in the kidney where it helps to regulate glucose handling. Here at Georgetown, Blythe's research laboratory is focused on understanding the function of these sensory receptors in both health and disease. In particular, her lab is interested in the role(s) that they play in the development of metabolic diseases such as diabetes, and how they can be activated as potential therapeutic targets.
