toconnel@usd.edu
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Education
• PhD, in Pharmacology from University of Michigan -1995
• BSc,n Bioengineering from University of Illinois at Chicago-1990

Experience
• Junior Scientist, South Dakota Health Research Foundation, November 2003 to present
• Assistant Professor, Sanford School of Medicine, Basic Biomedical Services, November 2003 to present
• Lead scientist for Alliance for Cellular Signaling Laboratory for the Development of Signaling Assays, 2000-2003
• AHA Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Paul C. Simpson, M.D. University of California at San Francisco, 1998-2000
• Cardiovascular Research Center Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Paul C. Simpson, M.D. University of California at San Francisco, 1995-1998

Distinctions
• Number of publications 19
• Number of book chapters 2

Professional Societies
• American Heart Association, Basic Research Council (AHA)
• International Society for Heart Research (ISHR)
• American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
• Tau Beta Pi (Engineering Honor Society)

Sanford Research/USD/University of South Dakota Service
• USD Internal Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), 2005 to present
• Director of the Cell Culture Core at the CRI, 2004 to present

Sanford Research/USD/University of South Dakota Teaching
• Director, CRI Journal Club
• Lecturer, PHPH 792-045 Genetic Approaches in Biomedical Research
• Lecturer, PHPH 792 Cardiovascular Signal Transduction

Reviewer
• American Journal of Physiology, Heart and Circulation
• Physiologic Genomics
• Cardiovascular Research
• Journal of Cardiac Failure
• FASEB Journal

Research Focus
• Current Focus-
  Studying α1-adrenergic receptor regulation of cardiac hypertrophy and function during both developmentand disease using both α1-AR knockout mice and cultured adult mouse myocytes.
  
• Previous Focus
  Developing long-term cell culture systems for adult mouse cardiac myocytes and B-lymphocytes for signaling studies. Developing RNAi (vector-based RNAi) and antisense technology to knockout signaling proteins in cultured myocytes and B cells to study signaling protein function. (2000- )
  
  Cloning and characterizing the mouse α1C-adrenergic receptor, and defining how M-CAT cis-regulatory elements control myocyte-specific expression of the gene in the heart. (1995-1998)
  
  Examining the regulation of cardiac development by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 by characterizing the effects of vitamin D3-deficiency on cardiac morphology and contractile-protein expression. In addition, characterizing the direct effects of the hormone 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 on cultured neonatal cardiac myocytes. (1990-1995)
  
  Examining the role of the Na/H exchanger in α1-adrenergic receptor function. Measuring contractile function in isolated cardiac myocytes by optical recording of myocyte shortening during contraction. (1988-1990)

Grants
• AHA Scientist Development Grant 0435338Z, 07/01/04-06/30/07.
• alpha-1-Adrenergic receptor prevention of heart failure by inhibition of cardiac myocyte apoptosis.
• South Dakota 2010 Grant, 07/01/04-06/30/09.
• Interactions between α and β-adrenergic receptor and the implications in heart failure.

Publications
• O’Connell TD, Weishaar RE and Simpson RU. 1994. Regulation of myosin isozyme expression by vitamin D3 deficiency and 1,25(OH)2D3 in the rat heart.  Endocrinol. 134: 899-905.
  
  O’Connell TD, Giacherio DA, Jarvis AK and Simpson RU. 1995. Inhibition of cardiac myocyte maturation by 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3. Endocrinol. 136: 482-488.
  
  O’Connell TD and Simpson RU. 1995. 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 regulation of myocardial growth and c-myc levels in the rat heart.  Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm.  213: 59-65.
  
  Pan Q, Martell RE, O’Connell TD and Simpson RU. 1996. 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 regulated binding of nuclear proteins to regions of the c-myc gene. Endocrinol. 137: 4154-4160.
  
  O’Connell TD, Berry JE, Jarvis AK, Somerman MJ and Simpson RU. 1997. 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 and phorbol ester regulation of cardiac myocyte proliferation and hypertrophy. Amer. J. Physiol. (Heart Circ. Physiol.) 272: H1751-H1758.
  
  Pan Q, Granger J, O’Connell TD, Somerman MJ, and Simpson RU. 1997. Evidence that 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 must both increase and activate PKC to induce HL-60 cell division.  Biochem. Pharmacol. 54: 909-915.
  
  Simpson RU, O’Connell TD, Pan Q, Newhouse J and Somerman MJ. 1998. Antisense oligonucleotides targeted against protein kinase CβI and βII block 1,25(OH)2D3 induced differentiation. J. Biol. Chem. 273: 19587-19591.
  
  O’Connell TD, Rokosh DG, and Simpson PC. 2001. Cloning and characterization of the mouse α1C-adrenergic receptor gene: An M-CAT element is required for promoter activity in cardiac myocytes. Mol. Pharmacol. 59(5): 1225-1234.
  
  McCloskey DT, Rokosh DG, O’Connell TD, Keung EC, Simpson PC and Baker AJ. 2002. α1-adrenoceptor subtypes mediate negative inotropy in myocardium from α1A/C-knockout and wild type mice. J. Mol. Cell. Cardiol. 34: 1007-1017.
  
  Gilman AG et al. 2002. Overview of the Alliance for Cellular Signaling. Nature 420:703-706.
  
  Sambrano GR, Fraser I, Han H, Ni Y, O’Connell TD, Yan Z, and Stull JT. 2002 Navigating the signaling network in mouse cardiac myocytes. Nature 420:712-714.
  
  Hsueh R, Roach T, Lin KM, O’Connell TD, and Yan Z. 2002. Purification and characterization of mouse splenic B lymphocytes. AfCS Research Reports: http://www.signaling-gateway.org/
  
  Turnbull L, McCloskey DT, O’Connell TD, Simpson PC and Baker AJ. 2003. α-Adrenergic receptor responses in α1-AB-AR knockout mouse hearts suggest the presence of α1D-AR. Am. J. Physiol. (Heart Circ. Physiol.) 284: H1104-H1109.
  
  O’Connell TD, Ishizaka S, Nakamura A, Swigart PS, Rodrigo MC, Simpson GL, Cotecchia S, Rokosh DG, Grossman W, Foster E and Simpson PC. 2003. Double knockout of the α1A/C and α1B-adrenegic receptor subtypes: α1-Adrenregic receptors are required for cardiac hypertrophy during postnatal development.  J. Clin. Invest. 111: 1783-1791.
  
  McCloskey DT, O’Connell TD, Simpson PC and Baker AJ. 2003. Abnormal myocardial contraction in α1A- and α1B-adrenoceptor double knockout mice. J. Mol. Cell. Card. 35: 1207-1216.
  
  O’Connell TD, Ni YG, Lin KM, Han H, and Yan Z. 2003. Isolation and culture of adult mouse cardiac myocytes for signaling studies. AfCS Research Reports: http://www.signaling-gateway.org/
  
  Okoshi, MP, Yan X, Okoshi K, Nakayama M, Schuldt AJ, O’Connell TD, Simpson PC and Lorell BH. 2004. Aldosterone directly stimulates cardiac myocyte hypertrophy. J. Card. Fail. 10: 511-518.
  
  O’Connell TD, Swigart PM, Rodrigo MC, Ishizaka S, Joho S, Foster E, Grossman W and Simpson PC. 2006. Double knockout of the α1A- and α1B-adrenergic receptors causes a maladaptive response to pressure overload. J. Clin. Invest. 116: 1005-1015
  
  Huang Y, Wright CD, Merkwan CL, Baye NL, Liang Q, Simpson PC and O’Connell TD. 2006. An α1A-adrenergic-ERK survival signaling pathway in  cardiac myocytes. Circulation in press.
  
  Huang Y, Wright CD, Baye NL, Elgethun M, Liang Q and O’Connell TD. 2006. GATA4 is not required for α1A-Adrenergic receptor survival signaling in cardiac myocytes. in preparation.
  
  Wright CD, Chen QH, Huang Y, Merkwan CL, Baye NL and O’Connell TD. 2006. Localization of α1-adrenergic receptors and α-signaling to the nucleus in cardiac myocytes. in preparation.
• Review Articles
  O'Connell TD and Simpson RU. 1995. 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 and cardiac muscle function and structure. In: Crass and Avioli LV (eds.). Calcium-regulating hormones and cardiovascular function.
  CRC Press, Boca Raton.
  
  O’Connell TD, Rodrigo MC and Simpson PC. 2006 Isolation and culture of adult mouse myocytes. Vivanco F (eds.). Cardiovascular Proteomics, Methods and Protocols. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ (In press).