The Dunedin-based, award-winning author was granted the residency as part of the International Writers Programme.
She will research and write a selection of essays, memoirs and journal entries on the quest for eternal life and how modern medicine plays a new role in an old mission.
It was a "wonderful opportunity" which she was "extremely excited" about.
Dr Hood is a widely published author, writer and playwright, who has won both the 1989 Wattie Book Award and 2002 Montana Medal for non-fiction works.
She was the 1991 University of Otago Robert Burns Fellow, was awarded a doctorate of literature by the university in 2003, and established the Dunedin Writers Walk.
Inspiration to apply for the residency, which starts in August, came from an Iowa lecturer in non-fiction writing, Prof Steve Kuuisisto, who has been blind since birth.
Dr Hood is facing her own battle with vision loss after losing the central vision of her left eye to a rare retinal disorder - Azoor - and thoughts of how her work could continue had guided her to finding Prof Kuuisisto through the internet.
Along with the opportunity to meet him and carry out her own project, Dr Hood could learn about how writers and readers cope with vision loss at the Iowa Vision Research Centre.
"So all of the planets have kind of aligned," she said.
She hoped to bring back information for the visually impaired of New Zealand as there was "a huge gap in the services here", she said.
Founded in 1967, the residency includes travel costs, accommodation, a stipend and is also supported by Creative New Zealand with a grant of $21,000.
Creative New Zealand chief executive Stephen Wainwright said the residency was a unique professional development opportunity for established New Zealand authors.
"As well as gaining personally from the residency, Lynley will be a wonderful ambassador for New Zealand," he said.
