Dr. Connolly graduated with honors from Washington & Lee University and earned his medical degree in 1996 from Lousiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine in New Orleans. He was elected a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society and received the American College of Physician: Internal Medicine Award of EXcellence.

Dr. Connolly completed a combined Internal Medicine & Emergency Medicine Residency at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans in 2001. He completed his Fellowship in Gastroenterolgy at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans in 2005. He has been a staff physician at Ochsner since 2001. He achieved triple board certification: Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine, and Gastroenterology. Currently, Dr. Connolly is Chief of General Gastroenterology and has a special interest in colo-rectal cancer screening and prevention.