Current Environment: Production

Medical Services

Programs & Services

Languages

  • English

Education

Undergraduate School

Merrimack College

2002, North Andover, MA

Medical School

Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University

2009, Philadelphia, PA

Internship

Fletcher Allen Health Care, University of Vermont

2010, Burlington, VT

Residency

Pediatrics

Fletcher Allen Health Care, University of Vermont

2012, Burlington, VT

Fellowship

Allergy & Immunology

Boston Children's Hospital

2014, Boston, MA

Fellowship

Harvard Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Training Program

2016, Boston, MA

Certifications

  • American Board of Allergy & Immunology (General)
  • American Board of Pediatrics (General)
  • American Board of Pediatrics (Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine)

Professional History

Dr. Amy O’Connell is a physician scientist who has clinical training in pediatrics, allergy/immunology, and neonatology. She attended medical and graduate school at what is now Jefferson University in Philadelphia and did her pediatrics residency at the University of Vermont. She has been in Boston since 2012 when she started her fellowship training at Boston Children’s Hospital, completing fellowships in allergy/immunology in 2014 and neonatal perinatal medicine in 2017. Her research focuses on developmental biology and neonatal immunity. The biggest focuses of the laboratory are intestinal stem cell biology and immune maturation in former preterm infants.

Publications

  1. Necrotizing enterocolitis causes increased ileal goblet cell loss in Wnt2b KO mice. bioRxiv. 2025 Jan 07. View Abstract

  2. Cataloguing the postnatal small intestinal transcriptome during the first postnatal month. bioRxiv. 2024 Dec 27. View Abstract

  3. A 4-Month-Old With Jaundice, Lethargy, and Emesis. Pediatrics. 2024 Oct 01; 154(4). View Abstract

  4. Non-canonical Wnt signaling triggered by WNT2B drives adrenal aldosterone production. bioRxiv. 2024 Aug 24. View Abstract

  5. M1 and M2 Macrophages Differentially Regulate Colonic Crypt Renewal. Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2024 07 03; 30(7):1138-1150. View Abstract

  6. Applying the bronchopulmonary dysplasia framework to necrotizing enterocolitis. Front Pediatr. 2024; 12:1388392. View Abstract

  7. WNT2B Deficiency Causes Enhanced Susceptibility to Colitis Due to Increased Inflammatory Cytokine Production. Cell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2024; 18(2):101349. View Abstract

  8. Antimicrobial peptides modulate lung injury by altering the intestinal microbiota. Microbiome. 2023 10 16; 11(1):226. View Abstract

  9. Outcomes of hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy for Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome. Blood. 2023 10 12; 142(15):1281-1296. View Abstract

  10. WNT2B Deficiency Causes Increased Susceptibility to Colitis in Mice and Impairs Intestinal Epithelial Development in Humans. bioRxiv. 2023 Apr 22. View Abstract

  11. Ectopic Rod Photoreceptor Development in Mice with Genetic Deficiency of WNT2B. Cells. 2023 03 28; 12(7). View Abstract

  12. Antimicrobial peptides modulate lung injury by altering the intestinal microbiota. bioRxiv. 2023 Mar 15. View Abstract

  13. A sepsis trigger tool reduces time to antibiotic administration in the NICU. J Perinatol. 2023 06; 43(6):806-812. View Abstract

  14. Premature Infants Have Normal Maturation of the T Cell Receptor Repertoire at Term. Front Immunol. 2022; 13:854414. View Abstract

  15. Insights into the Role of Commensal-Specific T Cells in Intestinal Inflammation. J Inflamm Res. 2022; 15:1873-1887. View Abstract

  16. Identifying Neonates at Lowest Risk for Sepsis. Pediatrics. 2022 02 01; 149(2). View Abstract

  17. Inborn Errors of Immunity in the Premature Infant: Challenges in Recognition and Diagnosis. Front Immunol. 2021; 12:758373. View Abstract

  18. Novel variants in the stem cell niche factor WNT2B define the disease phenotype as a congenital enteropathy with ocular dysgenesis. Eur J Hum Genet. 2021 06; 29(6):998-1007. View Abstract

  19. Gene and Stem Cell Therapies for Fetal Care: A Review. JAMA Pediatr. 2020 10 01; 174(10):985-991. View Abstract

  20. Primary immunodeficiency testing in a Massachusetts tertiary care NICU: persistent challenges in the extremely premature population. Pediatr Res. 2021 02; 89(3):549-553. View Abstract

  21. Hypersensitivity to tetracyclines: Skin testing, graded challenge, and desensitization regimens. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2020 06; 124(6):589-593. View Abstract

  22. Risk-factors Associated With Poor Outcomes in VEO-IBD Secondary to XIAP Deficiency: A Case Report and Literature Review. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2019 07; 69(1):e13-e18. View Abstract

  23. Primary Immunodeficiency in the NICU. Neoreviews. 2019 02; 20(2):e67-e78. View Abstract

  24. Mammalian Hbs1L deficiency causes congenital anomalies and developmental delay associated with Pelota depletion and 80S monosome accumulation. PLoS Genet. 2019 02; 15(2):e1007917. View Abstract

  25. Duplicate skin prick testing in the assessment of food allergy. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2019 Feb; 7(2):675-677. View Abstract

  26. Neonatal-Onset Chronic Diarrhea Caused by Homozygous Nonsense WNT2B Mutations. Am J Hum Genet. 2018 07 05; 103(1):131-137. View Abstract

  27. NeoReviews. Perinatal Transient Myeloproliferative Disorder in Trisomy 21. 2016; 17(11):e636-e644. View Abstract

  28. Next generation sequencing reveals skewing of the T and B cell receptor repertoires in patients with wiskott-Aldrich syndrome. Front Immunol. 2014; 5:340. View Abstract

  29. Paravertebral mushroom: identification of a novel species of Phellinus as a human pathogen in chronic granulomatous disease. J Clin Microbiol. 2014 Jul; 52(7):2726-9. View Abstract

  30. Successful desensitization to brentuximab vedotin after anaphylaxis. Clin Lymphoma Myeloma Leuk. 2014 Apr; 14(2):e73-5. View Abstract

  31. Human and mouse macrophages collaborate with neutrophils to kill larval Strongyloides stercoralis. Infect Immun. 2013 Sep; 81(9):3346-55. View Abstract

  32. Major basic protein from eosinophils and myeloperoxidase from neutrophils are required for protective immunity to Strongyloides stercoralis in mice. Infect Immun. 2011 Jul; 79(7):2770-8. View Abstract

  33. Soluble extract from the nematode Strongyloides stercoralis induces CXCR2 dependent/IL-17 independent neutrophil recruitment. Microbes Infect. 2011 Jun; 13(6):536-44. View Abstract

  34. IL-4(-/-) mice with lethal Mesocestoides corti infections--reduced Th2 cytokines and alternatively activated macrophages. Parasite Immunol. 2009 Dec; 31(12):741-9. View Abstract

My passion is taking care of critically ill babies and their families in a team-centered environment, and that is why I am a neonatologist at Boston Children’s Hospital. I help babies and infants with respiratory failure, congenital heart disease, prematurity, complex surgical problems, and a host of other diseases, from the common to the rare. In addition, I oversee infection control for the unit and make sure we are always doing our best to minimize the risk of hospital-acquired infections.

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