Roddy O'Connor, BSc, MS, PhD
Research Assistant Professor of Pathology and Laboratory MedicinePerelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Contact InformationPerelman School of Medicine
3400 Civic Center Blvd
8-105 South Pavilion Extension
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Email: oconnorr@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Research Expertise
CAR-T cell metabolism; T cell activation, proliferation and differentiation; Lentiviral, retroviral and mRNA-based gene transfer; Post-transcriptional gene suppression by shRNA and microRNA's; Bio-engineered cell culture platforms; Tissue stem cell differentiation;
Clinical Expertise
Clinical Research Coordinator
Other Expertise
Biomedical Expert (Local News Affiliate)
Itmat Expertise
Adoptive immunotherapy, CAR-T cell genetic metabolism, T cell genetic engineering (Chimeric Antigen Receptors), T cell differentiation
Graduate Groups
Cell and Molecular Biology
Genomics and Computational Biology
Education
BSc (Exercise Physiology), University of Limerick, 1997
MS (Muscle Metabolism), Georgia State University, 1999
PhD (Molecular Pharmacology), Emory University School of Medicine, 2007
Specialty Certification
Postgraduate Training
Postdoctoral Scholar in Cancer Biology, University of Pennsylvania, 2007-2010
Postdoctoral Fellowship in Immunology, University of Pennsylvania, 2010-2012
Awards and Honors
President's Letter for Outstanding Academic Achievement (University of Limerick), 1993
President's Letter for Outstanding Academic Achievement (University of Limerick), 1994
Pre-doctoral Travel Award American Society of Cell Biology, Annual Mtg. Washington, DC, 2004
Young Investigator's Award for Excellence in Research (FASEB conference: Skeletal Muscle Satellite and Stem cells Conference, Tucson, AZ.), 2005
Postdoctoral Fellowship (Alex's Lemonade Foundation), 2010-2012
The American Association of Immunologists (AAI) Young Investigator Award at the Translational Research Cancer Center Consortium, Pittsburgh, PA., 2015
NIH Reviewer, Special Emphasis Panel "Metabolic reprogramming to improve Immunotherapy, 2019-2019
NIH Reviewer, Special Emphasis Panel "Mammalian models for translational research", 2020-2020
Developed a customized CAR T-cell culture medium (NB-ROC), marketed by Nucleus Biologics, 2021
Guest Editor (Antibodies Journal): Special Issue on CAR T-cell metabolism, 2021-2021
Memberships and Professional Organizations
The American Association of Immunologists (AAI), 2011 - Present
The American Society for Cell and Gene Therapy, 2018 - present
National Institutes of Health (NIH), 2019 - Present
The Physiological Society, 2020 - 2021
Web Links
Informative webinar describing how fuel metabolism supports CAR-T cell differentiation
This webinar focuses on understanding what is in your cell culture media and why owning your formulations is imperative.
Understanding how Artificial Intelligence can expedite media formulation
Informative webinar providing insight into how unique CAR co-stimulatory domains influence the growth, differentiation, and metabolic function of T cells
This webinar will focus on understanding the time and cost of custom media and its importance for cell therapy
My lab's website in the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies, Perelman School of Medicine,
Selected Publications
Metabolic and epigenetic orchestration of (CAR) T cell fate and function
Akbari B, Hosseini Z, Shahabinejad P, Ghassemi S, Mirzaei HR, O'Connor RS., Cancer Lett 550(): 215948, 2022, PMID:36209973
Targeting PARP11 to avert immunosuppression and improve CAR T therapy in solid tumors
Zhang H, Yu P, Tomar VS, Chen X, Atherton MJ, Lu Z, Zhang HG, Li S, Ortiz A, Gui J, Leu NA, Yan F, Blanco A, Meyer-Ficca ML, Meyer RG, Beiting DP, Li J, Nunez-Cruz S, O'Connor RS, Johnson LR, Minn AJ, George SS, Koumenis C, Diehl JA, Milone MC, Zheng H, Fuchs SY., Nat Cancer 3(7): 808-820, 2022, PMID:35637402
Rapid manufacturing of non-activated potent CAR T cells
Ghassemi S, Durgin JS, Nunez-Cruz S, Patel J, Leferovich J, Pinzone M, Shen F, Cummins KD, Plesa G, Cantu VA, Reddy S, Bushman FD, Gill SI, O'Doherty U, O'Connor RS, Milone MC., Nat Biomed Eng 6(2): 118-128, 2022, PMID:35190680
Enhancing CAR T Function with the Engineered Secretion of C. Perfringens Neuraminidase
Durgin JS, Thokala R, Johnson L, Song E, Leferovich J, Bhoj V, Ghassemi S, Milone M, Binder Z, O'Rourke DM, O'Connor RS., Mol Ther 30(): 1201-1214, 2021, PMID:34813961
Recent Metabolic Advances for Preventing and Treating Acute and Chronic Graft Versus Host Disease
Mohamed FA, Thangavelu G, Rhee SY, Sage PT, O'Connor RS, Rathmell JC, Blazar BR., Front Immunol 12(): 757836, 2021, PMID:34712243
CAR T-Cells Depend on the Coupling of NADH Oxidation with ATP Production
Garcia-Canaveras JC, Heo D, Trefely S, Leferovich J, Xu C, Philipson BI, Ghassemi S, Milone MC, Moon EK, Snyder NW, June CH, Rabinowitz JD, O'Connor RS., Cells 10(9): 2334, 2021, PMID:34571983
In Like a Lamb; Out Like a Lion: Marching CAR T Cells Toward Enhanced Efficacy in B-ALL
Safarzadeh Kozani P, Safarzadeh Kozani P, O'Connor RS., Mol Cancer Ther 20(7): 1223-1233, 2021, PMID:33903140
Beyond the Lactate Paradox: How Lactate and Acidity Impact T Cell Therapies against Cancer
Tu VY, Ayari A, O'Connor RS., Antibodies (Basel) 10(3): 25, 2021, PMID:34203136
Case Report: Prolonged Survival Following EGFRvIII CAR T Cell Treatment for Recurrent Glioblastoma
Durgin JS, Henderson F Jr, Nasrallah MP, Mohan S, Wang S, Lacey SF, Melenhorst JJ, Desai AS, Lee JYK, Maus MV, June CH, Brem S, O'Connor RS, Binder Z, O'Rourke DM., Front Oncol 11(): 669071, 2021, PMID:34026647
CAR-T cell-mediated depletion of immunosuppressive tumor-associated macrophages promotes endogenous antitumor immunity and augments adoptive immunotherapy
Rodriguez-Garcia A, Lynn RC, Poussin M, Eiva MA, Shaw LC, O'Connor RS, Minutolo NG, Casado-Medrano V, Lopez G, Matsuyama T, Powell DJ Jr., Nat Commun 12(1): 877, 2021, PMID:33563975
