After earning her bachelor of science in nursing at Villanova University, Dr. Connolly moved to Boston to work as a nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital on a neuroscience floor for almost seven years. Feeling the need to expand her role in the nursing field, she returned to school while continuing to work. She completed her master’s degree and PhD in nursing from Boston College.

Her area of focus is adult post-stroke survivors. Her dissertation centers on understanding post-stroke survivors’ transitional experience from hospital to home. While studying for her doctorate and working at Mass General, she also been a clinical instructor at Boston College, teaching (a) undergraduate courses and (b) graduate-level neuroscience pathophysiology. Dr. Connolly is also a certified adult clinical nurse specialist.