Lynne’s research focuses on latent variable analysis. She has developed models intended to measure the development of human capital and the decline of cognition in older adults using item response theory and paradata such as response times. Lynne’s papers have appeared in top journals in economics, statistics, political science, and demography. In 2018, the American Statistical Association presented her with the Waller Education Award. Lynne has worked on projects involving the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), along with some newer projects on the General Social Survey (GSS).

Lynne is a professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Swarthmore College. At Swarthmore, she served for three years as the associate dean of faculty for diversity, recruitment, and retention. Prior to joining the faculty at Swarthmore, she worked as the special assistant to the dean at the College of Education at Temple University. Lynne also spent time as a research associate at the National Academies of Sciences with the Board on Testing and Assessment.