About

Lynne Wagner is a Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. She holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology from DePaul University and a BS in Psychology from the University of Michigan. Her educational background includes a master's degree in Clinical Psychology from DePaul University. Dr. Wagner has been recognized as a remarkable mentor to women in oncology and has received several honors and awards, including the Young Investigator Award from the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group in 2011 and nominations for the Remarkable Mentor to Women in Oncology Award in 2023. She has also been an invited presenter at notable conferences, such as the Harry E. Hynes Memorial Lecture, and has contributed to discussions on psychosocial distress screening standards in cancer care. Her research and professional focus are centered on psychosocial aspects of oncology, cancer research, and health policy, contributing to advancements in patient care and research in these areas.

Research topics

• Geology
• Geophysics
• Petrology
• Seismology
• Geodesy

Selected publications

• The MUSICA Seismic Deployment: Illuminating subduction complexities at the northern end of the South American Cordillera

  2026-03-13

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  The northern end of the South American convergent margin is influenced by the interplay between the Nazca, South American, and Caribbean plates. The relatively recently (Miocene) accretion of the Panama arc along the western margin of northernmost South America adds further uncertainty to an already complex tectonic region. Of note is the offset in the Wadati Benioff Zone (WBZ) at ~5.5° N, often referred to as the “Caldas Tear”. The shallowest (50-60 km depth) reach of the northern WBZ lies over 400 km from the nearest plate boundary, an observation that requires one or more subducting slabs to be horizontally emplaced (a.k.a. “flat slab”). But which plate (or plates) comprises this northern WBZ? We know that both the Caribbean and Nazca plates are subducting, but the spatial extent of each plate and their resultant interactions remain unclear. To address these (and many other questions) about this complex region, we installed a temporary array of 66 broadband seismometers straddling the Caldas Tear north-to-south and extending across both WBZs east-to-west as part of the NSF-funded Modeling, Uplift, Seismology, and Igneous geochemistry in the Colombian Andes (MUSICA) project. This deployment was installed in phases from July 2022 to July 2023. The full array was in place from July 2023 until June 2025. Preliminary results of our novel dataset indicate the presence of complex crustal and slab structures, as well as indications of the mantle’s response to the multiple downgoing slabs. Here we present information about our deployment (including the use of direct burial seismometers and Carnegie Quick-Deploy Boxes), as well as early insights from preliminary results.

  PublisherDOI

• Breaking the Caribbean Plate: Subduction Initiation Beneath the Northern Margin of Panama

  Geophysical Research Letters · 2025-09-18 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract The initiation of subduction zones is a poorly understood but core plate tectonic process. One unknown is how and under what conditions previously contiguous plates break. Here we present a comprehensive assessment of the Northern Panama Subduction Zone (NPSZ) where the Caribbean Plate is subducting to the SSW beneath Panama. Because the Panama arc was built onto the Caribbean Plate, the existence of the NPSZ means that the Caribbean Plate must have broken. The significant crustal thickness (∼20 km) and age (>90 Ma) of the Caribbean Plate make the NPSZ the closest analog to passive margin failure known. We use evidence from the 25 May 2023 Mw 6.5 megathrust earthquake northeast of Panama included in a newly refined earthquake catalog to identify the geometry of the downgoing plate. We combine these with plate reconstructions to study the initiation of the NPSZ, its subsequent evolution, and its tectonic implications.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Implications of Flat‐Slab Subduction on Hydration, Slab Seismicity, and Arc Volcanism in the Pampean Region of Chile and Argentina

  Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems · 2024-03-01 · 9 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract The Pampean flat slab in central Chile and Argentina is characterized by the inland migration and subsequent cessation of arc volcanism since the mid‐Miocene. Slab flattening also affects the distribution and number of intermediate‐depth earthquakes and the evolution of the overlying continental thermal structure. In this study, we combine thermal‐mechanical models with petrological models to examine temporal changes in pressure, temperature, and composition during flat‐slab subduction and estimate water carrying capacity, predicted melt distributions and predicted changes in melt composition. Model results indicate that the present‐day flattened Nazca plate carries water to ∼700 km inland from the trench and could cause flux melting if the material above the slab remains fertile. Observed slab seismicity matches areas where hydrated materials have ∼>3 wt% H 2 O in the oceanic crust and mantle lithosphere. Seismicity increases as slab water carrying capacity decreases (slab dehydration). As P‐T conditions and compositions of the rock trapped above the slab change during slab flattening, flux melting switches from a peridotite‐dominated early phase to a combined mid‐ocean ridge basalt/eclogite and peridotite melting at ∼8 Ma. The results provide broad consistency with known earthquake distributions, seismic velocities, and observed temporal and spatial changes in volcanic patterns above the Pampean flat slab and point toward the role of melt depletion in the decrease and ultimate cessation of arc volcanism in this region.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Electrical Conductivity and Sound Velocities of Talc Under High Pressure and High Temperature Conditions and Application to the Subducting Cocos Plate

  Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth · 2024-11-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Talc is expected to be an important water carrier in Earth's upper mantle, and understanding its electrical and seismic properties under high pressure and temperature conditions is required to detect possible talc‐rich regions in subduction zones imaged using geophysical observations. We conducted acoustic and electrical experiments on natural talc aggregates at relevant pressure‐temperature conditions. Compressional wave velocity ( Vp ) was measured using ultrasonic interferometry in a Paris‐Edinburgh press at pressures up to 3.4 GPa and temperatures up to 873 K. Similar Vp values are obtained regardless of the initial crystallographic preferred orientation of the samples, which can be explained by talc grain reorientation during the experiment, with the (001) plane becoming perpendicular to the uniaxial compression axis. Electrical conductivity of the same starting material was determined using impedance spectroscopy in a multi‐anvil press up to 6 GPa and 1263 K. Two conductivity jumps are observed, at ∼860–1025 K and ∼940–1080 K, depending on pressure, and interpreted as talc dehydroxylation and decomposition, respectively. Electrical anisotropy is observed at low temperature and decreases with increasing pressure (∼10 at 1.5 GPa and ∼2 at 3.5 GPa). Comparison of acoustic and electrical results with geophysical observations in central Mexico supports the presence of a talc‐bearing layer atop the subducted Cocos plate.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Lithospheric underthrusting beneath the northern Eastern Cordillera plateau, Colombian Andes: Insights from tomographic inversion using local earthquake travel time and gravity data

  Tectonophysics · 2023-12-29 · 1 citations

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Die Anlage eines transjugulären intrahepatischen portosystemischen Shunts bei Patient:innen mit dekompensierter Leberzirrhose ist mit einer signifikanten Verbesserung der Lebensqualität assoziiert

  Zeitschrift für Gastroenterologie · 2023-08-01 · 1 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Einleitung und Ziele Die Leberzirrhose kann zu einer portalen Hypertension und assoziierten Komplikationen, wie der Bildung von Aszites und Varizen(-blutungen), führen. Einschränkungen der körperlichen und mentalen Gesundheit beeinflussen die von Patient:innen empfundene Lebensqualität. Ein transjugulärer intrahepatischer portosystemischer Shunt (TIPS) kann den portalen Druck effektiv senken. In dieser Beobachtungsstudie ist es unser Ziel, die Auswirkungen eines TIPS auf die Lebensqualität (Quality of Life; QoL) zu untersuchen.

  PublisherDOI

• Aufbau eines Impf-Informations-System (IISAAR)

  Public Health Forum · 2023-11-27

  article

  Zusammenfassung Mit Förderung durch das Bundesministerium für Gesundheit wird derzeit bundesweit erstmalig und modellhaft ein Impf-Informations-System im Saarland und in den kooperierenden Bundesländern Baden-Württemberg, Bayern und Brandenburg aufgebaut. Gegenwärtig befindet sich die Maßnahme nach Abschluss von formalen Vorarbeiten in Umsetzung. Da bislang noch keine konkreten Projektergebnisse vorliegen, beschreibt der Artikel technische und funktionale Hintergründe sowie die geplante Umsetzung für das digitale Modellvorhaben.

  PublisherDOI

• Evaluating Models for Lithospheric Loss and Intraplate Volcanism Beneath the Central Appalachian Mountains

  Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) · 2022-08-13

  articleOpen access

  The eastern margin of North America has been shaped by a series of tectonic events including the Paleozoic Appalachian Orogeny and the breakup of Pangea during the Mesozoic. For the past ∼200 Ma, eastern North America has been a passive continental margin; however, there is evidence in the Central Appalachian Mountains for post-rifting modification of lithospheric structure. This evidence includes two co-located pulses of magmatism that post-date the rifting event (at 152 and 47 Ma) along with low seismic velocities, high seismic attenuation, and high electrical conductivity in the upper mantle. Here, we synthesize and evaluate constraints on the lithospheric evolution of the Central Appalachian Mountains. These include tomographic imaging of seismic velocities, seismic and electrical conductivity imaging along the Mid-Atlantic Geophysical Integrative Collaboration array, gravity and heat flow measurements, geochemical and petrological examination of Jurassic and Eocene magmatic rocks, and estimates of erosion rates from geomorphological data. We discuss and evaluate a set of possible mechanisms for lithospheric loss and intraplate volcanism beneath the region. Taken together, recent observations provide compelling evidence for lithospheric loss beneath the Central Appalachians; while they cannot uniquely identify the processes associated with this loss, they narrow the range of plausible models, with important implications for our understanding of intraplate volcanism and the evolution of continental lithosphere. Our preferred models invoke a combination of (perhaps episodic) lithospheric loss via Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities and subsequent small-scale mantle flow in combination with shear-driven upwelling that maintains the region of thin lithosphere and causes partial melting in the asthenosphere.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• O USO DE RECURSOS TECNOLÓGICOS PARA ENSINAR MATEMÁTICA NO CURSO TÉCNICO E ESTÉTICA PROEJA – UM RELATO DE EXPERIÊNCIA

  Editora Científica Digital eBooks · 2022-01-01

  book-chapterOpen access

  Considerando a necessidade de ensinar Computação na Educação Profissional, esse artigo relata as ações desenvolvidas no Estágio Curricular Supervisionado II, do Curso Superior de Licenciatura em Computação, tendo como tema central o Ensino da Computação, no Curso Técnico em Estética (PROEJA) - Programa Nacional de Integração da Educação Profissional com a Educação Básica na Modalidade de Educação de Jovens e Adultos. O texto descreve a utilização de vídeo e do uso do google forms no processo de ensino e aprendizagem de matemática, e sua importância durante o ensino remoto. Os resultados apontam que o uso dos recursos tecnológicos em ações de ensino, oportunizam aplicar os conhecimentos teóricos e práticos a partir do processo dinâmico de reflexão/ação crítica, estimulando a pesquisa com o planejamento das atividades de intervenção no contexto educacional.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The role of subducted fluids on the genesis of deep earthquakes: evidence from deep diamonds and subduction zone thermal modeling

  2022-03-28

  preprintOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  <p>The role of subducted fluids on the generation of deep earthquakes (300 – 700 km) has been a topic of much research and debate for decades. While fluids are commonly believed to play a role in the genesis of intermediate depth earthquakes (70 – 300 km), it is often argued that fluids (i.e., water- or carbonate-bearing) cannot be transported to sufficient depth to play a role in the triggering or propagation of deep earthquakes. However, recent investigations show evidence of up to ~1.5 wt% water in a ringwoodite inclusion in a diamond from the mantle transition zone <strong>[1]</strong>. Additionally, heavy iron (δ<sup>56</sup>Fe = 0.79–0.90‰) and unradiogenic osmium (187Os/188Os = 0.111) isotopic compositions of metallic inclusions in sublithospheric diamonds trace the pathway of serpentinized slabs from the trench to the top of the lower mantle <strong>[2]</strong>. Given this evidence for slab derived fluids at transition zone depths, we investigate the ability of fluids to reach these depths in subducted slabs by compiling a) new subduction zone thermal models, b) slab earthquake locations within these modeled subduction zones, and c) phase relations of hydrated or carbonated mantle peridotite and basaltic crust. Our results show a distinctive pattern that is consistent with the necessity of fluids in the generation of deep seismicity <strong>[3]</strong>.<strong> </strong>Specifically, those slabs capable of transporting water to the bottom of the transition zone (via dense hydrous magnesium silicates (DHMS)) produce earthquakes at transition zone depths. Conversely, virtually all slabs that do not transport water to these depths do not generate deep earthquakes. We also note that the depths of deep earthquakes coincide with the <em>P/T</em> conditions at which oceanic crust is predicted to intersect the carbonate-bearing basalt solidus to produce carbonatitic melts. We suggest that hydrous and/or carbonated fluids released from subducted slabs at these depths lead to fluid-triggered seismicity, fluid migration, diamond precipitation, and inclusion crystallization. Deep focus earthquake hypocenters would then track the general region of deep fluid release and migration in the mantle transition zone <strong>[3]</strong>.<strong> </strong></p><p><strong>[1] </strong>Pearson, D. G., Brenker, F. E., Nestola, F., Mcneill, J., Nasdala, L., Hutchison, M. T., et al. (2014). Hydrous mantle transition zone indicated by ringwoodite included within diamond. <em>Nature</em>, <em>507</em>, 221–224. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13080<strong> [2]</strong> Smith EM, Ni P, Shirey SB, Richardson SH, Wang W, and Shahar, A (2021) Heavy iron in large gem diamonds traces deep subduction of serpentinized ocean floor. <em>Science Advances</em> 7: eabe9773 https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abe9773 <strong>[3] </strong>Shirey SB,  Wagner LS, Walter MJ, Pearson DG, and van Keken PE (2021) Slab Transport of Fluids to Deep Focus Earthquake Depths – Thermal Modeling Constraints and Evidence From Diamonds. <em>AGU Advances</em>: <strong>2</strong>, e2020AV000304.<strong>    </strong>https://doi.org/10.1029/2020AV000304</p>

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Joint Inversion of Surface Waves and Teleseismic Body Waves to Study the Formation of the High Lava Plains in Eastern Oregon

  NSF · $120k · 2008–2012

• CAUGHT: Central Andean Uplift and the Geodynamics of High Topography

  NSF · $226k · 2009–2014

Frequent coauthors

• S. L. Beck

  70 shared

• Maureen D. Long

  70 shared

• G. Zandt

  University of Arizona

  54 shared

• K. M. Fischer

  Brown University

  50 shared

• Hernando Tavera

  Instituto Geofísico del Perú

  40 shared

• Robert B. Hawman

  38 shared

• M. J. Fouch

  Naval Sea Systems Command

  34 shared

• David E. James

  31 shared

Awards & honors

• Remarkable Mentor to Women in Oncology Award Nominee 2023, E…
• Invited Presenter, Harry E. Hynes Memorial Lecture, Plenary…
• Plenary Session Presenter, The Commission on Cancer’s Psycho…
• Meet-the-Expert, Distress Screening 2013-2014, American Psyc…
• Recipient, National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Rese…