Wolfson College Cambridge: Dr Sean Flynn

Position Governing Body Fellow Junior Research Fellow
School Clinical Medicine Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute - CRUKCI
Email sean.flynn@cruk.cam.ac.uk
Twitter @sflynn4
Department link CRUKCI

Sean is a Junior Research Fellow and was previously a PhD student at Wolfson College. His research at the CRUK Cambridge Institute focuses on DNA structure and gene regulation.

Sean graduated with a BA in Human Genetics from Trinity College Dublin in 2013, and received his PhD from the University of Cambridge in 2018. For his PhD with Professor Mario de Bono at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, he identified genes and pathways that function in the nervous system using the small model organism C. elegans.

In 2020 he joined Professor Shankar Balasubramanian’s lab as a postdoctoral research associate at the CRUK Cambridge Institute, and in 2021 he was awarded a Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship to investigate the biological functions of alternative DNA structures in the human genome.

In addition to the well-known double helix, DNA can form alternative structures such as the 4-stranded quadruplex. Although most of our DNA adopts a double helix, thousands of sites quadruplex structures form in our genome, like knots on a piece of string. However, their functions are not well understood. Sean is interested in understanding the role of quadruplex DNA in basic biological processes and identifying mechanisms by which it regulates gene expression.

Sean is based at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, where he uses genetic and genomics methods to study G-quadruplexes in human cells. He also works closely with colleagues at the Department of Chemistry.

What's on

Event Type (field_event_type)

Two people walking away on a brick pathway lined with wisteria.

Poetry Trail

13/05/2024 at 12.00

Explore our new trail featuring extracts of poetry written by Wolfson staff and students for the forthcoming WolfWords Anthology Wild.

Family pose for photograph on graduation day

Graduation Ceremony

17/05/2024 at 09.00

Graduation ceremonies are the culmination of students’ hard work and commitment, and a moment to celebrate the completion of their Cambridge degree.

A student speaker wearing a red top presenting on stage.

Postgraduate Research Soirée

17/05/2024 at 17.45

Join Wolfson postgraduate students as they talk about their research in an informal evening of interesting presentations and friendly discussion – complete with wine and cheese!