Biography
Erin Connolly, PhD, is a computational immunologist in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Connolly is a member of the Cancer Immunology Research Program at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. She is a 2026 Prostate Cancer Foundation Young Investigator.
Education
Dr. Connolly earned her PhD in Bioinformatics from Georgia Institute of Technology, where she was an NIH T32 ImmunoEngineering Fellow.
Titles & Roles
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Instructor, Department of Radiation OncologyEmory University School of Medicine
Research
Dr. Connolly studies how cancer treatments remodel the immune system, both when they drive productive anti-tumor responses and when they cause lasting harm to patients. She applies single-cell and spatial genomics to patient samples and preclinical models, resolving how CD8 T cells respond to radiation and other cancer therapies. Her research also investigates why androgen deprivation therapy, a mainstay of prostate cancer treatment that blocks testosterone, increases cardiovascular risk, focusing on the immune and endothelial mechanisms driving vascular injury. Working across radiation oncology, vascular biology, and cardio-oncology, she aims to improve long-term outcomes for cancer survivors.
Publications
| Title/Journal | Authors | Publication Date |
|---|---|---|
|
HELZ is a RNA-DNA helicase that resolves R loops to facilitate homologous recombination repair. Nature communications |
R Haji-Seyed-Javadi, AE Koyen, SK Rath, B Wu, MZ Madden, Y Hou, P Kapoor-Vazirani, R Roshika, M Aiello, NC Luong, WC Tseng, F Sesay, JS Kim, T Tan, S Kim, B Gao, BS Song, AM Kenney, EC Connolly, L Yang, B Xhemalce, X Li, JM Switchenko, X Yang, ZS Buchwald, X Deng, KM Miller, B Yao, L Lan, W Zhao, DS Yu | 07/23/2026 |