Subscribe to our mailing list  |  Search:  
 
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine
Jefferson Science Fellowship
Fellowships Office
Policy and Global Affairs
Fellows Directory
 Connell

 

Nancy D. Connell
Rutgers New Jersey Medical School

Nancy D. Connell is Professor and Director of Research in the Division of Infectious Disease in the Department of Medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences. A Harvard University PhD in Microbiology, Dr. Connell’s major research focus is antibacterial drug discovery in respiratory pathogens such as M. tuberculosis and B. anthracis; recent work also focuses on the use of predatory bacteria as novel therapeutics for treatment of Gram negative bacterial infections. Dr. Connell has been continuously funded by the NIH, the Department of Defense, industry, and other agencies since 1993. Dr. Connell chairs the Institutional Biosafety Committee of Rutgers University and directs the institution’s biosafety level three containment laboratory. She serves on or has chaired multiple NIH review panels. Dr. Connell has a long-standing interest in the development of regulatory policies associated with biocontainment work and so-called Dual Use Research of Concern. To this end, she has served on a number of committees of the National Academy of Sciences, e.g., the Advances in Technology and the Prevention of their Application to Next Generation Biowarfare Agents (2004), Trends in Science and Technology Relevant to the Biological Weapons Convention (2010), and Review [of] the Scientific Approaches used in the FBI's Investigation of the 2001 Bacillus anthracis Mailings (2011). In addition to biomedical research policy, Dr. Connell has considerable experience and interest in pedagogy, with a focus on ethics education and the responsible conduct of research: she chaired the NRC “Standing Committee for Faculty Development for Education about Research with Dual Use Issues in the Context of Responsible Science and Research Integrity”, which directed a series of workshops throughout the Middle East and North Africa over the past 5 five years. These workshops sought to apply contemporary teaching and learning methodologies (“active learning”) to the challenge of increasing awareness among young scientists of the societal implications of their research. She has presented at workshops and meetings around the world on the interrelated issues of biocontainment, infectious disease research, research ethics and dual use research of concern. Dr. Connell was recently appointed a member of the Board on Life Sciences and is a National Associate of the National Academies of Sciences.