William Alexander Flavahan

William Alexander Flavahan is an Assistant Professor at UMass Chan Medical School, affiliated with the T.H. Chan School of Medicine and the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. His primary department is Molecular, Cell and Cancer Biology, with additional appointments in Systems Biology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, Cancer Biology, and translational science programs.

He holds a BE in Biomedical Engineering and a PhD in Molecular Medicine, both from Case Western Reserve University.

Dr. Flavahan's research focuses on epigenetic plasticity, tumorigenesis, and the role of cancer stem cells in therapeutic resistance. His work investigates chromatin remodeling, insulator dysfunction in gliomas, metabolic adaptations in tumor microenvironments, and the interplay between epigenetic dysregulation and oncogene activation. Key areas include glioblastoma biology, cancer metabolism, and developing strategies to overcome treatment resistance.

His publications demonstrate a consistent focus on epigenetic mechanisms in cancer, particularly glioblastoma and gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Recent work explores metabolic dependencies of tumor-initiating cells, chromatin topology alterations in SDH-deficient cancers, and RNA metabolism in radiation resistance. The research integrates genomics, epigenetics, and cancer biology to identify novel therapeutic vulnerabilities.

Dr. Flavahan collaborates extensively within cancer biology networks, co-authoring with researchers specializing in epigenetics, stem cell biology, and neuro-oncology. His work involves studying tumor microenvironments, myeloid-derived suppressor cells, and chromatin remodeling complexes.