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Dr. Cristian O’Flaherty is a professor in the Department of Surgery (Division of Urology) at McGill University and a medical scientist at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre. He is also an associate member of the Departments of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Anatomy and Cell Biology, and Experimental Medicine at McGill University. Dr. O’Flaherty was Co-Director of the McGill Centre for Research in Reproduction and Development during 2018-2021. He is an associate editor of Andrology, Human Reproduction, and Antioxidants Journal and a member of the Editorial Board of the Biology of Reproduction. 

With a background in the biology of reproduction, he holds a D.V.M and Ph.D. in animal physiology and biochemistry degrees from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. He completed his postdoctoral studies in sperm physiology and toxicology at the Urology Division and the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at McGill University. He was awarded the Chercheur-boursier Junior 1 and 2 awards from the Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Québec (FRSQ), and his research program has been and is currently funded by different agencies, including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, FRQS and the Fonds de Recherche Nature et technologies. 

Dr. O’Flaherty’s research program focuses on male reproduction, particularly on the molecular mechanisms involved in the production and function of healthy spermatozoa and the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in sperm physiology and toxicology. Through mouse models and human spermatozoa, Dr. O’Flaherty aims to elucidate the role of the reactive oxygen species and antioxidant enzymes in regulating sperm function using genomic, proteomic and biochemical approaches. Dr. O’Flaherty was the first to identify the primary role of peroxiredoxin 6 in protecting the spermatozoa against oxidative stress and the participation of peroxiredoxins in regulating ROS during sperm capacitation. He is also dedicated to deciphering the molecular mechanisms that drive the spermatozoon to achieve the fertilizing ability to develop novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for male infertility.