Young Alumni Award: Ryan Flynn, M.D., Ph.D. ’06 honored for insight and leadership to bridge the fields of RNA biology and stem cell research

The 2021 Young Alumni Award was presented virtually by former Science Department Chair Dr. Barbara Kreider to Ryan Flynn ’06, Assistant Professor at the Boston Children’s Hospital in the Stem Cell Program and in the Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology at Harvard University.

Ryan grew up in a medical tradition. He is the son of retired surgical oncologist Anne Rosenberg M.D. ’74, and the grandson of two outstanding medical doctors. He was sure he wanted to be a physician, until he got to medical school. There, he discovered that his true passion was research.

He recently became the newest Principal Investigator in the Stem Cell Program and the Division of Hematology/Oncology at Boston Children’s Hospital, as well as serving in his position at Harvard University and the Pediatrics Department at Harvard Medical School.

In January, Ryan opened the Flynn Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital in the Stem Cell Program, where his team explores how biopolymers like RNA and glycans work together to control cellular processes in the context of human disease.

Ryan completed his M.D. and Ph.D. in cancer biology in The Medical Science Training Program at Stanford University, where he was mentored by Howard Chang and supported by the National Institutes of Health. He received his B.S. in biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, under the mentorship of Phil Sharp, a Nobel Laureate and leader in the RNA field. Ryan was recently awarded the Career Award for Medical Scientists from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. Besides his strong focus on research, he is committed to mentoring and training young scientists. Outside the lab his hobbies are learning about and investing in transformative technologies in space, energy, and biotechnology.

Director of the Boston Children’s Hospital Stem Cell Program Dr. Len Zon said, “The Program is very excited to have Ryan as part of our community. Ryan brings amazing scientific insights, energy, and enthusiasm to bridge the fields of RNA biology and stem cell research.”

An original at MFS, Ryan’s interest in math and science was evident from an early age. He accelerated in both subjects as much as he was able, consuming every available math and science course, in addition to studying Latin outside of school on his own time. As an Upper Schooler, he was a finalist in the Siemens Westinghouse Science Competition as well as a semifinalist in the Young Epidemiologist Competition. Ryan was a co-author of a published and peer-reviewed medical journal article before he graduated from MFS. As a senior he received the National Association of Biology Teachers Award and the American Chemical Society Award. He also excelled at crew, cross country, and pottery.

As his academic career continued, he received publication in numerous prestigious journals including Science while he was still at MIT, and Nature while he was at Stanford. At Stanford he was a Damon Runyan postdoctoral fellow in Carolyn Bertozzi’s group in the Department of Chemistry (2017). He also received the Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (2016). At MIT, he was the recipient of the Salvador E. Luria Prize, for excellent scholarship and research of publication quality (2010), as well as the Merck Prize, for outstanding research and academic performance in biophysical/informatics science (2009).

In his college recommendations, MFS science and math teachers wrote about his personal qualities, beyond his obvious academic talent, such as his determination, drive, and grit. Those attributes have served Ryan well as he launched a very promising career in medical science, which has potential to unlock more of the basic biology of processes such as stem cells, cancer, and regeneration.

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