Prof O’Byrne’s major contribution has been the development of multi-disciplinary research teams and organisations. He supervises one team in Brisbane working with Assoc Prof Derek Richard on DNA stability and another in Dublin, on cell signalling mechanisms involved in resistance to cisplatin chemotherapy and targeted agents, and has set up the British Thoracic Oncology Group (BTOG) and am the lifelong President, and a co-founder of the European Thoracic Oncology Platform (ETOP). He also works on the fellowship and CME committees of the IASLC.

His current research interests include exploring the potential role of DNA stability in regulation of the androgen receptor and as a target for therapy for prostate cancer patients. He also plays a lead role in the clinical trials unit on the PAH campus, investigating treatments such as OGX-011, a clusterin antisense therapy, in patient volunteers with prostate cancer.

Prof O’Byrne is an expert in translational and clinical research, specialising in cancer incorporating basic science, biomarkers, therapeutic target evaluation and phase I, II and III clinical trials collaborating with both academic and industrial partners. He has been a PI, co-PI, CI or collaborator on grants worth in excess of $50M over the past 5 years including the award of a 5 year Senior Clinical Research Fellowship by the Queensland Government, through the Office of Health and Medical Research in 2012 totalling $4.25M to support the establishment of a Translational Cancer Research Group at the Princess Alexandra Hospital and Translational Research Institute. In 2013 alone he has been co-author on a number of high impact papers in the New England Journal of Medicine (PMID: 23724913), Journal of Clinical Oncology (PMID: 23816967; PMID: 23816960) and Journal of the National Cancer Institute (PMID: 23468463).