Staff Clinician/Scientist, Translational Allergic Immunopathology Unit
Education:
Ph.D., Cell and Molecular Biology (Developmental Origins of Health and Disease), 2006
M.Sc., Biochemical Pharmacology, 2003
B.Sc., Sport and Health Sciences, minor in Psychology, 2001
Biography
Dr. O'Connell received his Ph.D. in development origins of health and disease (cell and molecular biology) from the University of Southampton School of Medicine in the United Kingdom, in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania. He obtained postdoctoral training in the areas of Wnt5a-mediated progression of metastatic melanoma at the National Institute on Aging from 2006 to 2011. Prior to joining the Laboratory of Allergic Diseases in 2014, Dr. O'Connell was a staff scientist at the Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, from 2011 to 2014, where he investigated mechanisms of drug resistance in cancer.
Dr. O’Connell joined the Laboratory of Allergic Diseases from the Wistar Institute in 2015. Working in the Genetics and Pathology of Allergy Section, he has investigated endothelial cell-driven mechanisms promoting atopy. He joined the Translational Allergic Immunopathology Unit in 2019 bringing with him expertise in molecular biology and cancer and is leading efforts to understand how inherited and acquired genetic variation in endothelial and myeloid cells can promote severe allergic reactions and myeloproliferation.