Julia Connors was a Roy H. Park Fellow and graduated from the Medical Journalism Master's Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in May 2008.

A Minnesota native, Connors received her B.A. in French studies in 2004 from Duke University. She has held internships at National Geographic, Duke Magazine and Duke University Press, and her writing and photos have appeared in several other publications. Her photographic documentary project on pediatric terminal illness paved the way for many more projects relating to health and science and compelled her to begin a career in medical journalism.

Connors also holds an interest in environmental issues and animal behavior. She has conducted primate behavioral research in Madagascar and studied sea turtle conservation in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

Connors moved to Chapel Hill after spending two years in New York City working for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation where she managed grants to local breast health organizations and research universities, wrote profiles on these grantee organizations and photographed Komen's annual New York City Race for the Cure.

She hopes to focus her writing and photographic career on improving the accuracy of preventive health and environmental reporting.