Cahir O'Kane

Professor Cahir O'Kane is a faculty member at the Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge. He studied Genetics as an undergraduate in Cambridge, earned a PhD in bacterial genetics at Trinity College Dublin, and conducted postdoctoral work at the University of Basel, where he developed enhancer trapping in Drosophila. His research focuses on subcellular neuronal function and dysfunction using Drosophila as a model organism, particularly the role of axonal endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP). He actively contributes to undergraduate teaching in cell biology and genetics and serves as a Director of Studies at Churchill College.

His work leverages Drosophila to explore ER-shaping proteins implicated in HSP, such as those causing axonal ER continuity gaps. Current projects involve screening tools for ER formation genes, light/electron microscopy analyses, and physiological impacts of ER disruption. He collaborates with the Virtual Fly Brain consortium for integrating Drosophila brain data.

He advocates for sustainable funding of scientific resources like FlyBase and has supported efforts to relocate FlyBase operations to Cambridge amid NIH funding cuts. His team has received Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Horizon 2020 awards for research on ER dynamics (Dr. Lu Zhao, Dr. JJ Perez Moreno).