Lawreen Connors

Lawreen Marie Heller Connors (August 9, 1954 – October 20, 2024) was an American biochemist, medical researcher, and college professor. She was a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Boston University School of Medicine from 1998 until she retired in 2022. Her research focused on the protein amyloid, and the related disease, amyloidosis. She was director of the Amyloidosis Center at Boston University, and co-director of the Amyloid Pathology Diagnostic Testing Laboratory.

Early life and education Heller was born in Ogdensburg, New York, the daughter of Warren Heller and Helen Amelia Fleming Heller. Her father was a cardiologist. She graduated from Ogdensburg Free Academy in 1972. She graduated from Boston College in 1976, with a double degree in chemistry and mathematics. She completed a master's degree at Tufts University, and a Ph.D. in biochemistry at Boston University.

Career Connors was a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Boston University School of Medicine beginning in 1998. Her research involved studies in the structure and development of the protein amyloid, and the related disease, amyloidosis. She was director of the Amyloidosis Center at Boston University, and co-director of the Amyloid Pathology Diagnostic Testing Laboratory. Biochemistry, Amyloid, Circulation Research, Circulation, Blood, American Heart Journal, American Journal of Physiology, Molecular & Cellular Proteomics, Arthritis & Rheumatology, Journal of Proteome Research, Stem Cell Reports, and Journal of Cardiac Failure. She was also on the editorial board of the journal Amyloid.