She is a professor of pharmacology at the University of Auckland, where she is head of the Neural Reprogramming and Repair Lab.

She had originally planned to major in exercise science at university, due to her love of rowing, but became hooked on neurology.

She followed this with a PhD titled The role of neurotrophic factors in neurodegenerative disorders of the human brain at the University of Auckland.

[4] Connor then undertook postdoctoral research at Northwestern University in Chicago, where she investigated gene therapy for Parkinson's disease.

[6] In the 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours, Connor was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the treatment of neurological disorders.