Ryan M. O'Connell

I am a Professor in the Department of Pathology at the University of Utah. My postdoctoral studies were performed in Dr. David Baltimore’s laboratory at the California Institute of Technology where I began working in the area of microRNAs following my graduate training in Immunology at UCLA (mentored by Dr. Genhong Cheng). My research program has since been focused on studying the roles of microRNAs in regulating both physiological and pathological hematopoietic development in mammals, with an emphasis on inflammation and cancer. Collectively, my work as a trainee and as an independent principle investigator has resulted in the publication of over 80 high impact primary research manuscripts and review articles, and has significantly contributed to our current understanding of the importance of microRNAs during the development, function and transformation of hematopoietic cells. Furthermore, I also serve in multiple leadership roles at the University of Utah that include Co-Director of the Immunology, Inflammation and Infectious Disease (3i) Initiative, Associate Chief of the Microbiology and Immunology Division, and Program Co-Director of the Neuroimmunology Training Grant.