Kim A. Connelly

FRACP, PhD, MBBS

Scientist

Biography

Dr. Kim Connelly is a Cardiologist and Scientist who is both nationally recognized as an expert in echocardiography, cardiovascular MRI and the impact of diabetes upon cardiac function and ventricular remodeling. His work has been recognized evident by winning the “Young Investigator of the Year Award” by the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, an Early Researcher Award in 2014, and a CIHR New Investigator award in 2014.

Dr. Connelly runs a basic research laboratory at the Keenan Research Centre at St. Michael’s Hospital where he focuses upon basic mechanisms of disease – primarily around the role of pathological extracellular matrix accumulation and the pro-sclerotic cytokine transforming growth factor beta, with a focus upon translating discoveries into therapies in humans. He developed the first hemodynamically validated model of diabetes induced HFpEF. He is the Director of the Krembil Stem Cell Facility at St. Michael’s Hospital and uses regenerative cell based therapies to improve cardiac and renal dysfunction as a result of diabetes. He has research support from the HSF of Canada, CIHR and CFI along with significant research support from the pharmaceutical industry. His work has been published in journals such as the NEJM, Circulation, Journal of the American college of Cardiology, Circulation Research, Diabetes, Cell Metabolism and Lancet Endocrinology and Diabetes.

His H index is 45, and I index of 140.

Dr Connelly is immediate past president of the Canadian Society of Cardiac Magnetic resonance imaging. He runs a translational imaging laboratory and uses hyperpolarized C13 metabolic imaging to understand metabolism in the human heart in real time, as well as CMR to understand the impact of exercise upon cardiac remodeling. He was senior author of the EMPA HEART study along with Dr Verma and Zinman to assess the mechanism by which the SGLT2i empagliflozin provided cardiac protection in patients with type 2 DM. Finally, he was past section lead of 2018 macrovascular complications section for the Diabetes Canada Clinical practice updates and is current chair of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society guidelines.

Recent Publications

  1. Yazaki, K, Dewar, M, Dauz, J, Akazawa, Y, Hui, L, Sun, M et al.. Serial and regional assessment of the right ventricular molecular and functional response to pressure-loading. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2024; :. doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.00322.2024. PubMed PMID:39422363 .
  2. Russo, G, Pedicino, D, Pires Marafon, D, Adamo, M, Alessandrini, H, Andreas, M et al.. TRIVALVE Score: A Risk Score for Mortality/Hospitalization Prediction in Patients Undergoing Transcatheter Tricuspid Valve Intervention. JACC Cardiovasc Interv. 2024;17 (18):2170-2179. doi: 10.1016/j.jcin.2024.08.009. PubMed PMID:39322365 .
  3. Pourafkari, M, Connelly, KA, Verma, S, Mazer, CD, Teoh, H, Quan, A et al.. Empagliflozin and left atrial function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and coronary artery disease: insight from the EMPA-HEART CardioLink-6 randomized clinical trial. Cardiovasc Diabetol. 2024;23 (1):319. doi: 10.1186/s12933-024-02344-6. PubMed PMID:39198860 PubMed Central PMC11360285.
  4. Cannata, F, Sticchi, A, Russo, G, Stankowski, K, Hahn, RT, Alessandrini, H et al.. Mitral regurgitation evolution after transcatheter tricuspid valve interventions - a sub-analysis of the TriValve Registry. Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Imaging. 2024; :. doi: 10.1093/ehjci/jeae227. PubMed PMID:39189600 .
  5. Rzepka, MF, Raschzok, S, Lee, XA, Yazaki, K, Dauz, J, Sun, M et al.. Inhibition of MRTF-A Ameliorates Pathological Remodeling of the Pressure-loaded Right Ventricle. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2024; :. doi: 10.1165/rcmb.2023-0465OC. PubMed PMID:39163574 .
  6. Venugopal, S, Dan, Q, Sri Theivakadadcham, VS, Wu, B, Kofler, M, Layne, MD et al.. Regulation of the RhoA exchange factor GEF-H1 by profibrotic stimuli through a positive feedback loop involving RhoA, MRTF, and Sp1. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 2024;327 (2):C387-C402. doi: 10.1152/ajpcell.00088.2024. PubMed PMID:38912734 .
  7. Yerra, VG, Connelly, KA. Extrarenal Benefits of SGLT2 Inhibitors in the Treatment of Cardiomyopathies. Physiology (Bethesda). 2024;39 (6):0. doi: 10.1152/physiol.00008.2024. PubMed PMID:38888433 .
  8. Chakraborty, P, Nattel, S, Nanthakumar, K, Connelly, KA, Husain, M, Po, SS et al.. Sudden cardiac death due to ventricular arrhythmia in diabetes mellitus: A bench to bedside review. Heart Rhythm. 2024;21 (10):1827-1837. doi: 10.1016/j.hrthm.2024.05.063. PubMed PMID:38848857 .
  9. Raleigh, MJ, Pasricha, SV, Nauth, A, Ward, MR, Connelly, KA. Endothelial progenitor cells for diabetic cardiac and kidney disease. Stem Cells Transl Med. 2024;13 (7):625-636. doi: 10.1093/stcltm/szae025. PubMed PMID:38733609 PubMed Central PMC11227977.
  10. Adamo, M, Russo, G, Pagnesi, M, Pancaldi, E, Alessandrini, H, Andreas, M et al.. Prediction of Mortality and Heart Failure Hospitalization After Transcatheter Tricuspid Valve Interventions: Validation of TRISCORE. JACC Cardiovasc Interv. 2024;17 (7):859-870. doi: 10.1016/j.jcin.2024.02.013. PubMed PMID:38599688 .
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Affiliations & Other Activities

  • Director, Krembil Stem Cell Facility, St. Michael’s Hospital
  • Staff Cardiologist, Division of Cardiology, St. Michael’s Hospital
  • Member, Richard Lewar Center, University of Toronto
  • Cardiologist, Division of Cardiology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre