Dr. Jennifer Connelly’s expertise includes the diagnosis and treatment of a wide array of brain and spine tumors. More specifically, she is focused on tumors that begin or have spread (metastasized) to the brain or spine. She shared the advances in this area, including Awake Craniotomy – where the patient is awake as their brain is stimulated, allowing the surgeon to see what areas/functions may be effected.
Minimally invasive surgery - where a small incision is made thru the nose, above the eye or behind an ear, shorter stays, better outcomes. AL MR Linac Accelerator – there are only 2 in the US, one at Froedtert and the Medical College and one at MD Anderson in Texas. This allows for radiation to be given AND an MRI to be done at the exact same time. Up and coming treatments are Heat Shock treatments – the patient wears something on their head and and walk around with the device ~ 18 hours/day. Now looking at using for small cell lung CA also. In addition, her clinical interests include evaluating and treating neurologic complications of cancer and cancer therapies (including paraneoplastic syndromes seizures, and neuropathies). Her research interests include molecular pathology as well as development of advanced MRI imaging techniques for diagnosing and treating brain and spinal cord tumors. Her holistic patient-centered care focuses on improving quality of life outcomes for brain and spine tumor patients. A native of the Milwaukee area, Dr. Connelly graduated from Marquette University with her Biomedical Engineering degree, she then went to the Medical College of WI for Medical School and has received all of her training there. Dr. Connelly is board certified in Internal Medicine, Neurology and Neuro-Oncology.
