Quantifying rare-disease phenotypes
Develops recording hardware and AI analysis pipelines, including models of patient mutations.
Staff Scientist
Ryan O’Neill
Developing high-throughput tools and Drosophila models for rare disease research.
About
Ryan O’Neill develops high-throughput recording platforms and AI-based analysis pipelines for rare-disease research in Drosophila. His work combines disease models, quantitative behavior, and genetic analysis to connect patient variants with cellular and developmental phenotypes.
He has investigated how Traip prevents neural stem-cell loss in a model of microcephaly, and how duplicated centrosome genes acquire cell-type-specific functions.
Expertise
Drosophila disease models, high-throughput phenotyping, AI-based behavioral analysis, microcephaly, centrosome evolution and genetics
Education & career
Current
Staff Scientist
Guidehouse contractor in the Rusan Lab · NHLBI, NIH
2016–2024
Postdoctoral Fellow
NHLBI, NIH · Nasser Rusan
2016
Ph.D. · Biology
University of New Brunswick · Denise V. Clark
2007
B.Sc. · Biology
University of New Brunswick
Research highlights
Neural stem-cell maintenance
Established a Traip microcephaly model linking mitotic DNA bridges with neural stem-cell loss.
Centrosome gene diversification
Characterized cell-type-specific functions of duplicated centrosome genes in Drosophila.
Publications
- Autobehaver: An AI-Based Pipeline for Animal Behavior Analysis.
- Spd-2 gene duplication reveals cell-type-specific pericentriolar material regulation
- Traip controls mushroom body size by suppressing mitotic defects
- Same but Different - Pleiotropy in Centrosome-Related Microcephaly.
- Partial Functional Diversification of Drosophila melanogaster Septin Genes Sep2 and Sep5.
- The Drosophila melanogaster septin gene Sep2 has a redundant function with the retrogene Sep5 in imaginal cell proliferation but is essential for oogenesis.
- Evolution of three parent genes and their retrogene copies in Drosophila species.
Recognition
- 2019, 2020 & 2021 NIH Fellows Award for Research Excellence
- 2020 NHLBI COVID-Response Group Award
- 2017 Chan Zuckerberg Initiative travel award, ASCB/EMBO Meeting
- 2015 Best Oral Presentation, UNB Graduate Research Conference
- 2014 Best Poster, Society for Developmental Biology Northeast Meeting
Selected talks
2026
67th Annual Drosophila Research Conference
Chicago, Illinois
2022
Cell Bio · ASCB/EMBO Meeting
Special Interest Subgroup · Washington, DC
2022
63rd Annual Drosophila Research Conference
San Diego, California
2021
CanFly XVI
Virtual
2021
Society for Developmental Biology
Postdoctoral Seminar Series
Teaching & mentoring
Mentors postbaccalaureate researchers in computational analysis, AI body-part tracking, 3D printing, and Drosophila genetics. Previous trainees have progressed to graduate programs and professional training.
Service
Chairs the NIH Artificial Intelligence Interest Group and the NIH Artificial Intelligence Symposium committee (2024–present), and leads the Artificial Intelligence Journal Club and Seminar Series (2023–present). Previously served on NHLBI fellows and seminar committees and as a scientific reviewer.