Dr. Katie J. O’Conor MD is Faculty (Research Associate) and Chief Diversity Officer in the department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine (ACCM) at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, with a career focus on health equity, crisis/trauma response, medical education, and health systems administration. Dr. O’Conor has advised on equitable healthcare, trauma-informed care and counseling, human trafficking and sexual assault response, disaster and crisis response, and front-line mental health, serving on institutional, local, and national task forces. 

Dr. O’Conor holds leadership roles in several educational programs, including Health Equity for Critical Care Fellows, Virtual Visiting Elective in Equitable Healthcare, and the Health Equity in Anesthesiology resident curriculum. Dr. O’Conor co-chairs the Pathways in Medicine: Discovery Lab and the ACCM Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council with Dr. Michael Banks.

Dr. O’Conor is a member of the Baltimore City Human Trafficking Collaborative, Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, and HEAL Trafficking Committee. In 2022, Dr. O’Conor co-founded the B’more Human Trafficking Symposium with Debra Holbrook, Tom Stack, and Lt. Colleen Lull. Dr. O’Conor was appointed to the Johns Hopkins Police Accountability Board in 2020 and reappointed in 2022. During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. O’Conor co-created the Hopkins Vaccine Equity Task Force with Dr. Sherita Golden and directed the launch of the community vaccination clinics in partnership with the Baltimore City Health Department. Dr. O’Conor is a physician with the Hopkins, Esperanza, and Loyola Asylum Clinic.

Prior to joining Johns Hopkins Medicine, Dr. O’Conor instructed on clinical research in emergency medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, while supervising NIH-, AHRQ-, PCORI-, and industry-funded studies. Dr. O’Conor previously spent several years in film and media, executive strategy, and community-based non-profit leadership. Dr. O’Conor served as a producer on several films, with accolades including an Emmy Nomination, Peabody Award, Edith Lando Peace Prize, and multiple Best Documentary awards. Overall, Dr. O’Conor is an accomplished leader with 20-plus years of experience in disciplines spanning healthcare, research, education, media, business, information technology, social responsibility, and public sector with a record of excellence in diverse settings. Dr. O’Conor’s educational content, research findings, and creative works have been presented to national and international audiences.

Dr. O’Conor received a medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and an undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania in psychology, cognitive science, and linguistics. Dr. O’Conor attended Johns Hopkins for emergency medicine and anesthesiology residency training from 2018 to 2021. Dr. O’Conor received the 2021 COVID-19 Health Care Hero Award from The Daily Record and the House Staff Teaching Award from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Graduating Class of 2021. Dr. O’Conor is a Baltimore native.

Selected Publications

Original Research

O’Conor KJ, Chang AM, Wu AH, Hollander JE. Myeloperoxidase and C-reactive protein in patients with cocaine-associated chest pain. Am J Emerg Med. 2013 Apr;31(4):664-9.

Soremekun OA, Hamedani A, Shofer FS, O’Conor KJ, Svenson J, Hollander JE. Safety of a rapid diagnostic protocol with accelerated stress testing. Am J Emerg Med. 2014 Feb;32(2):124-8.

Chang AM, Litt HI, Snyder BS, Gatsonis C, Greco EM, Miller CD, Singh H, O’Conor KJ, Hollander JE. Impact of coronary computed tomography angiography findings on initiation of cardioprotective medications. Circulation. 2017 Nov 28;136(22):2195-2197.

Goddu AP, O’Conor KJ, Lanzkron S, Saheed MO, Saha S, Peek ME, Haywood C Jr, Beach MC. Do words matter? Stigmatizing language and the transmission of bias in the medical record. J Gen Intern Med. 2018 May;33(5):685-91.

Panebianco NL, Shofer FS, O’Conor KJ, Wihbey T, Mulugeta L, Suzuki EH, Alghamdi AN, Dean AJ. Emergency department patient perceptions of transvaginal ultrasound for complications of first trimester pregnancy. J Ultrasound Med. 2018 Aug;37(8):1965-1975.

Heidari O, Meyer D, O’Conor KJ, et al. COVID-19 vaccination and communicable disease testing services’ integration within a syringe services program: a program brief. J Assoc Nurses AIDS Care. 2022 May-Jun 01;33(3):348-352.

Editorials and Commentaries

Dickert NW, Brown J, Cairns CB, Eaves-Leanos A, Goldkind SF, Kim SY, Nichol G, O’Conor KJ, Scott JD, Sinert R, Wendler D, Wright DW, Silbergleit R. Confronting ethical and regulatory challenges of emergency care research with conscious patients. Ann Emerg Med. 2016 Apr;67(4)538-45.

Golden SH, O’Conor KJ, Irvin R, Galiatsatos P, Iarrobino N, and Kachalia A. Vaccine equity for healthcare workers – reaching all of the frontline. Health Secur. Sep-Oct 2021;19(5):560-563.

Hughes MT, Auwaerter PG, Ehmann MR, Garibaldi BT, Golden SH, Lorigiano T, O’Conor KJ, Kachalia A, Kahn J. The importance of offering vaccine choice in the fight against COVID-19. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2021;118:e2117185118.

O’Conor KJ, Golden SH, Hughes MT, Sisson SD, Kachalia A. COVID-19 vaccination: health care organizations’ responsibility and opportunity. Am J Public Health. 2022 Feb;112(2):213-215.

Galiatsatos P, O’Conor KJ, Wilson C, Myers C, Reeves J, Thomas WJ, Phillips A, Johnson S, Golden SH. A checklist to address implicit bias in healthcare settings during the COVID-19 pandemic: the PLACE strategy. Health Secur. 2022 May-Jun;20(3):261-263.

Commissioned Reports

Links JM, O’Conor KJ, Sauer LM. Recommendations for enhancing Baltimore City’s preparedness and response to mass demonstration events, based on a review and analysis of the events of April 2015. Johns Hopkins University for the City of Baltimore. 2015 Dec 4. http://mayor.baltimorecity.gov/sites/default/files/Baltimore%20City%20Recommendations%20v120415_0.pdf

Invited Book Chapters

O’Conor KJ, Holbrook DS. Rape, sexual assault, and sexual violence. Global Medical Knowledge Alliance. 2022 Jun 16.

https://gmka.org/rape-sexual-assault-and-sexual-violence. (English version).

https://gmka.org/uk/zgvaltuvania-seksualny-napad. (Ukrainian translation).