Dr. James R. Connor received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in 1975 from Thomas More College (Ft. Mitchell, KY), a Master of Science from Wright State University (Dayton OH) in Physiology and a PhD in Anatomy from the University of California, Berkeley in 1981. He is currently a University Distinguished Professor and Vice-chair of Neurosurgery, Professor of Pediatrics, and Director of the G.M. Leader Family Laboratory at Pennsylvania State University, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.

Dr. Connor’s research program is focused on understanding the mechanisms for regulation of iron in the brain. Connor’s group pioneered the field of iron in neurobiology and identified iron mismanagement and oxidative stress in the brain as contributors to numerous neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Restless Legs Syndrome and brain cancer. He has been privileged to receive support for his research from multiple private foundations and 5 different institutes within the National Institutes of Health. The latter institute has supported his research continuously since 1987. Dr. Connor has published over 250 primary papers, over 50 review articles and served as editor for two books (Metals and Oxidative Damage in Neurological Disorders, 1997, Redox- Active Metals in Neurological Disorders, 2004). Connor has trained over 30 doctoral students.

Dr. Connor serves on the Scientific Advisory Boards for the Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation and the Scientific Advisory Boards for the Iron Disorders Institute. He serves on the editorial boards for Journal of Neurochemistry, Current Neurovascular Research, Cerebrospinal Fluid Research, Neuroscience Journal, Recent Patents in CNS Discovery and PlosOne. Connor supports commercial biotechnological development both serving as a consultant and has started two of his own companies.