Rate My Professor Eric O'Neill

Eric O'Neill is Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology in the Department of Oncology at the University of Oxford, where he also serves as Director of Education and Director of Graduate Studies for Oncology. He earned his BA in microbiology from Trinity College Dublin, MPhil in molecular biology from Umeå University, and PhD from Umeå University in Sweden. Following postdoctoral research at the University of Oxford and a Marie Curie fellowship at the CRUK Beatson Institute for Cancer Research in Glasgow, he became Senior Group Leader at the CRUK/MRC Oxford Institute for Radiation Oncology, now integrated into the Department of Oncology.

His research group investigates the molecular mechanisms driving cancer, particularly pancreatic cancer, from basic biology to translational applications. Key focuses include mechanotransduction and extracellular matrix signaling to the nucleus via Rassf1a, immuno-oncology strategies enhancing T cells, NK cells, and macrophages in pancreatic and oesophageal cancers, the intersection of cancer and mental health, and computational modeling of multitargeted therapies. Pioneering works encompass the discovery of the human Hippo signaling pathway (Science, 2004), Lats1-mediated YAP phosphorylation for tumor suppression (Molecular Cell, 2007), CDK2/BRCA2 regulation under genomic stress (Nature Cell Biology, 2014), reversible epigenetic drivers in PDAC (Gastroenterology, 2022), development of pancreatic cancer avatars (Science Advances, 2024), roles of tissue-resident NK cells (eLife, 2024), and PI3Kγ inhibition with radiotherapy for macrophage efferocytosis (Gut, 2025). O'Neill has been awarded honorary membership by the Royal College of Radiologists for establishing the cancer biology curriculum and training clinical oncologists. He is a member of the Association for Radiation Research and an examiner for the Royal College of Radiologists.