Kelli Connolly
Associate Research ScientistCards
About
Research
Publications
2026
Dissecting Tumor‐Associated Tertiary Lymphoid Structure Formation and Maintenance Using Mouse Models
Riffard C, Yin Z, Connolly K, Joshi N. Dissecting Tumor‐Associated Tertiary Lymphoid Structure Formation and Maintenance Using Mouse Models. Immunological Reviews 2026, 338: e70117. PMID: 41795221, DOI: 10.1111/imr.70117.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsTA-TLSMouse modelTumor microenvironmentLocal anti-tumor immune responseTumor-associated tertiary lymphoid structuresDisruption of germinal centersAnti-tumor immune responseTertiary lymphoid structure formationImmune responseResponse to immunotherapyEndogenous immune responseTertiary lymphoid structuresPreclinical tumor modelsPreclinical mouse modelsSecondary lymphoid organogenesisNon-immune cell populationsSolid tumor microenvironmentAnti-tumor activityTumor rechallengeSpatial profiling technologiesTumor regressionFavorable prognosisLymphoid structuresLymph nodesGerminal centers
2025
709 A novel mouse model to investigate the impact of B cell-driven immunity in immunotherapy-treated non-small cell lung cancer
Vaccaro A, Sun X, Ruiz-Justiz A, Wang M, Leung C, Le J, Chen L, Cui C, Connolly K, Hu W, Lin H, Bruno T, Joshi N, Cascone T. 709 A novel mouse model to investigate the impact of B cell-driven immunity in immunotherapy-treated non-small cell lung cancer. 2025, a813-a813. DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2025-sitc2025.0709.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchDistinct T cell functions enable efficient immunoediting and prevent tumor emergence of developing sarcomas
Cheung J, Hunt B, Wahed S, Cheng E, Connolly K, Venkatesan S, Loza J, Bansal I, Fagerberg E, Kessler E, Riffard C, Buck J, Attanasio J, Borr E, Wei W, William I, Fitzgerald B, Joshi N. Distinct T cell functions enable efficient immunoediting and prevent tumor emergence of developing sarcomas. Cancer Cell 2025, 43: 2311-2326.e4. PMID: 41043437, PMCID: PMC12693725, DOI: 10.1016/j.ccell.2025.09.005.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchPreclinical Models of Solid Cancers for Testing Cancer Immunotherapies
Exposito F, Connolly K, Tang T, Chiorazzi M, Hunt B, Cardenas J, Nguyen D, Joshi N, Politi K. Preclinical Models of Solid Cancers for Testing Cancer Immunotherapies. Annual Review Of Cancer Biology 2025, 9: 285-305. DOI: 10.1146/annurev-cancerbio-062822-024810.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchResponse to immunotherapyDevelopment of immunotherapyStandard treatment optionCancer immunotherapy drugsCancer-immune interactionsNumerous cancer typesImmunotherapy resistanceImmunotherapy drugsCancer immunologyPreclinical modelsTreatment optionsMouse modelImmunotherapyCancer typesAdvanced in vitro systemsHuman modelTherapyCancerMiceImmunologyDrugKLF2 maintains lineage fidelity and suppresses CD8 T cell exhaustion during acute LCMV infection
Fagerberg E, Attanasio J, Dien C, Singh J, Kessler E, Abdullah L, Shen J, Hunt B, Connolly K, De Brouwer E, He J, Iyer N, Buck J, Borr E, Damo M, Foster G, Giles J, Huang Y, Tsang J, Krishnaswamy S, Cui W, Joshi N. KLF2 maintains lineage fidelity and suppresses CD8 T cell exhaustion during acute LCMV infection. Science 2025, 387: eadn2337. PMID: 39946463, PMCID: PMC12199163, DOI: 10.1126/science.adn2337.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsCD8 T cellsT cellsCD8 T cell exhaustionNaive CD8 T cellsAcute LCMV infectionT cell exhaustionT cell fate decisionsLineage fidelityLCMV infectionEffector differentiationAcute infectionExhaustion programTranscription factorsImmune responseEpigenetic modulationSuppress differentiationProgenitor stateKLF2InfectionFunctional stateFate decisionsCD8
2024
Mouse Models Enable the Functional Investigation of Tertiary Lymphoid Structures in Cancer
Jeevanandam A, Yin Z, Connolly K, Joshi N. Mouse Models Enable the Functional Investigation of Tertiary Lymphoid Structures in Cancer. Methods In Molecular Biology 2024, 2864: 57-76. PMID: 39527217, DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-4184-2_4.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsTertiary lymphoid structuresTertiary lymphoid structure formationSecondary lymphoid organsLymphoid structuresMurine modelFeatures of tertiary lymphoid structuresFunction of tertiary lymphoid structuresMouse modelPersistent inflammatory stimulationAssociated with positive clinical outcomesTissue-specific regulatory mechanismsPositive clinical outcomesPrognostic significanceClinical outcomesGut environmentNonlymphoid tissuesLymphoid aggregatesLymphoid organsMouse lungCancer patientsGenetic sequencesInflammatory stimulationRegulatory mechanismsTherapeutic modulationClinical efforts
2022
Novel Mouse Models for Cancer Immunology
Connolly K, Fitzgerald B, Damo M, Joshi N. Novel Mouse Models for Cancer Immunology. Annual Review Of Cancer Biology 2022, 6: 1-23. PMID: 36875867, PMCID: PMC9979244, DOI: 10.1146/annurev-cancerbio-070620-105523.Peer-Reviewed Reviews, Practice Guidelines, Standards, and Consensus Statements
2021
Neoantigen-driven B cell and CD4 T follicular helper cell collaboration promotes anti-tumor CD8 T cell responses
Cui C, Wang J, Fagerberg E, Chen PM, Connolly KA, Damo M, Cheung JF, Mao T, Askari AS, Chen S, Fitzgerald B, Foster GG, Eisenbarth SC, Zhao H, Craft J, Joshi NS. Neoantigen-driven B cell and CD4 T follicular helper cell collaboration promotes anti-tumor CD8 T cell responses. Cell 2021, 184: 6101-6118.e13. PMID: 34852236, PMCID: PMC8671355, DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.11.007.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsCD8 TB cellsTfh cellsLung adenocarcinomaTfh-B cell interactionsTumor-specific B cellsFollicular helper cellsAnti-tumor immunityB cell signaturesCell effector functionsGerminal center formationGC B cellsCD4 THelper cellsTumor controlTumor neoantigensEffector functionsCell collaborationCell responsesCell signatureTumor cellsSignature correlatesNeoantigensCell functionCD4A mouse model for the study of anti-tumor T cell responses in Kras-driven lung adenocarcinoma
Fitzgerald B, Connolly KA, Cui C, Fagerberg E, Mariuzza DL, Hornick NI, Foster GG, William I, Cheung JF, Joshi NS. A mouse model for the study of anti-tumor T cell responses in Kras-driven lung adenocarcinoma. Cell Reports Methods 2021, 1: 100080. PMID: 34632444, PMCID: PMC8500377, DOI: 10.1016/j.crmeth.2021.100080.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsLung adenocarcinomaNeoantigen expressionTumor-specific CD8 T cellsCD8 T cellsImmune checkpoint therapyInfection-induced inflammationExpression of neoantigensCommon lung cancerLUAD cell linesCheckpoint therapyLung cancerTherapeutic responseT cellsImmune responseMouse modelCell responsesTumor inductionTumorsAdenocarcinomaCell linesNeoantigensKRASFuture studiesExpressionImmunotherapyA reservoir of stem-like CD8+ T cells in the tumor-draining lymph node preserves the ongoing anti-tumor immune response
Connolly KA, Kuchroo M, Venkat A, Khatun A, Wang J, William I, Hornick NI, Fitzgerald BL, Damo M, Kasmani MY, Cui C, Fagerberg E, Monroy I, Hutchins A, Cheung JF, Foster GG, Mariuzza DL, Nader M, Zhao H, Cui W, Krishnaswamy S, Joshi NS. A reservoir of stem-like CD8+ T cells in the tumor-draining lymph node preserves the ongoing anti-tumor immune response. Science Immunology 2021, 6: eabg7836. PMID: 34597124, PMCID: PMC8593910, DOI: 10.1126/sciimmunol.abg7836.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsTumor-specific CD8T cellsTumor microenvironmentOngoing anti-tumor immune responseChronic lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infectionTumor-draining lymph nodesAnti-tumor immune responseLymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infectionIntratumoral T cellsEfficacy of immunotherapyT cell responsesTumor-draining lymphAntitumor T cellsT cell terminal differentiationStem-like CD8Immunologic shiftGene expression signaturesLymph nodesTerminal differentiationLung tumorsVirus infectionLung adenocarcinomaImmune responseCD8Cell responses