Kim Connelly

Research Interests: Dr. Kim Connelly is a Cardiologist and Scientist who is both nationally recognized as an expert in human and rodent echocardiography, cardiovascular MRI and the impact of diabetes upon cardiac function. His work has been recognized evident by winning the “Young Investigator of the Year Award” in 2012 by the Canadian Cardiovascular Society an Early Researcher Award in 2014, and a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) New Investigator award in 2014. Dr. Connelly runs a basic research laboratory at the Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science at St. Michael’s Hospital where he focuses upon basic mechanisms of disease – primarily around the role of pathological extracellular matrix accumulation and the pro-sclerotic cytokine transforming growth factor beta, with a focus upon translating discoveries into therapies in humans. He is the Director of the Krembil Stem Cell Facility at St. Michael’s Hospital and uses stem cell based therapies to improve cardiac and renal dysfunction as a result of diabetes. He collaborates extensively not only locally in Toronto but also nationally and internationally – with research support from the Heart and Stroke Foundation (HSF) of Canada, CIHR and Canadian Foundation for Innovation along with significant research support from the pharmaceutical industry. Locally, he sits on the executive of the University of Toronto Cardiovascular research network, and has been a reviewer for both the CIHR along with the Heart and Stroke foundation of Canada. He was the national spokesperson for the HSF of Canada “heart healthy month” in Feb 2015.