George T. O'Connor, MD

Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

My research focuses on epidemiology, including genetic epidemiology, and clinical investigations of asthma, allergy, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and sleep apnea. I am currently a multiple PI and Co-director of the NHLBI's Framingham Heart Study, and I am a co-investigator in the Risk Underlying Rural Areas Longitudinal (RURAL) Cohort Study. I am the Boston University-Boston Medical Center principal investigator of multiple NIH-funded multi-center investigations, including the All of Us Research Program, the Childhood Asthma in Urban Settings (CAUSE) consortium, and the Vitamin D Antenatal Asthma Reduction Trial (VDAART). I have led the BU-BMC site of clinical trials in children and adolescents with asthma and the Urban Environment and Childhood Asthma (URECA) birth-cohort study examining the risk factors for asthma and allergy in urban settings. l conduct epidemiologic and genetic epidemiologic research at the Framingham Heart Study, including genome-wide association studies seeking novel genetic determinants of lung function impairment, interstitial lung abnormalities, and atopy. My research spans disciplines including adult medicine, pediatrics, epidemiology, genetics and genomics, immunology, and environmental science. At Boston Medical Center, my outpatient practice focuses on adults with asthma, COPD, and bronchiectasis. I am an Associate Editor of JAMA.

Publications

  • Published 2/21/2026

    Zhang J, Moll M, Debban CL, Hobbs BD, Rijhwani H, Washko GR, Celli BR, Silverman EK, Bakke P, Oelsner EC, Barr RG, Agustí A, Faner R, Bruselle GG, Humphries SM, Lynch DA, Dupuis J, Manichaikul AW, O'Connor GT, Cho MH. BMI-Related Genetic Factors and COPD Imaging Phenotypes. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2026 Feb 21. PMID: 41721747.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 12/20/2025

    Moore CM, Secor EA, Everman JL, Fairbanks-Mahnke A, Jackson N, Pruesse E, Diener K, Morin A, Arbes SJ, Bacharier LB, Bendixsen CG, Calatroni A, Dupont WD, Furuta GT, Gebretsadik T, Gruchalla RS, Gupta RS, Khurana Hershey GK, Kattan M, Liu AH, Lussier SJ, Murrison LB, Numata M, O'Connor GT, Rivera-Spoljaric K, Phipatanakul W, Rothenberg ME, Seroogy CM, Zoratti EM, Castina S, Jackson DJ, Camargo CA, Johnson CC, Ethridge R, Ramratnam S, Stelzig L, Teach SJ, Togias AG, Fulkerson PC, Hartert TV, Seibold MA. The Common Cold Is Associated With Protection From SARS-CoV-2 Infections. J Infect Dis. 2025 Dec 20; 232(6):e920-e930. PMID: 40795882.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 9/27/2025

    Thompson D, Visness CM, Wood RA, O'Connor GT, Robison RG, Hershey GKK, Kercsmar CM, Chambliss J, Liu AH, Johnson C, Lovinsky-Desir S, Bacharier LB, Gern JE, Jackson DJ, Busse WW, Gergen PJ, Teach SJ, Rastogi D. Associations between body weight, asthma burden, and type 2 inflammation among under-resourced children. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2026 Jan; 136(1):66-74.e7. PMID: 41022283.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 9/23/2025

    Gern JE, Schwartz J, Yee J, Bacharier L, Kattan M, O'Connor GT, Rivera-Spoljaric K, Wood RA, Calatroni A, Gergen P, Craven M. Immune development in urban children and its relationship to environmental exposures, allergic sensitization, and asthma. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2026 Jan; 157(1):226-237. PMID: 40998211.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 9/9/2025

    Dapas M, Wentworth-Sheilds W, Thompson EE, Kumar R, Lippner E, Wood RA, O'Connor GT, Khurana Hershey GK, Gruchalla RS, Liu AH, Zoratti EM, Bacharier LB, Lovinsky-Desir S, Gill MA, Sheehan WJ, Patel SJ, Altman MC, Gern JE, Visness CM, Gergen PJ, Becker PM, Jackson DJ, Ober C. Cumulative Genetic Risk for Asthma Contributes to Disease Severity in Children with Asthma living in Urban Environments. medRxiv. 2025 Sep 09. PMID: 40963756.

    Read at: PubMed

View All 374 Publications:   View Full Profile in BUMC

Other Positions

  • Ad-interim Director; Co-Principle Investigator
    Framingham Heart Study
  • Member, Pulmonary Center
    Boston University
  • Member, Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research
    Boston University
  • Member, Genome Science Institute
    Boston University

Websites

Education

  • Boston University School of Medicine, MD
  • Harvard School of Public Health, MS
  • Boston University, BA

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