Timothy (Tim) O’Connor is a professor in the Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences at the University of British Columbia and a member of the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health and International Collaborations On Repair Discoveries (ICORD). He obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Toronto under the supervision of  Derek van der Kooy prior to completing a postdoctoral fellowship with David Bentley at the University of California, Berkeley. It was during his postdoctoral work that he became interested in the regulation of neuronal growth and plasticity.

O’Connor has worked on understanding mechanisms of developmental neurobiology for 30 years and specifically on neuronal growth and circuit formation for the last 20. Over this period, he has employed numerous model systems that were the most appropriate to address specific questions, including the use of both vertebrate and invertebrate models to examine neuronal growth migration and pathfinding. Previously he has established simple and relatively high throughput vertebrate assays to examine cytoskeletal and signaling pathways associated with growth cone and cellular migration.