Caitlin O’Meara, PhD, Named 2022 Cullen Healthy Heart Scholar; Steve Cullen Healthy Heart Run/Walk Raises $50,000 for Cardiovascular Research

Milwaukee, June 21, 2022 – Caitlin O’Meara, PhD, is the recipient of the 2022 Steve Cullen Healthy Heart Scholar Award to fund her research investigating heart cell regeneration as an alternative therapy for treating heart failure.

Dr. O’Meara is a member of the Cardiovascular Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), an assistant professor in the Department of Physiology, and an alumna of MCW. A total of $50,000 will fund her project, “The Role of Llgl1 in Mammalian Cardiomyocyte Ploidy and Regeneration,” to identify molecules that can be manipulated to promote healing and heart cell regeneration following injury such as heart attack. Findings from this study have the potential to lessen heart damage and prevent early death for heart failure patients and may also provide an alternative to current therapies such as heart transplants and left ventricular assist devices.

Funding for the Steve Cullen Healthy Heart Scholar Award comes from the 2021 and 2022 Steve Cullen Healthy Heart Club Run/Walk. Over the past 26 years, this annual event has raised more than a half-million dollars to fund cardiovascular research. The event honors the memory of former Milwaukee Alderman Steve Cullen who died suddenly of a heart attack at age 40.

The 27th Annual Steve Cullen Healthy Heart Club Run/Walk will be held on February 11, 2023.

Barry Thrune of Badgerland Striders, Dr. Ivor Benjamin, director of the Cardiovascular Center at MCW, Cullen Run/Walk Board Chair Gael Garbarino Cullen, and Colleen Cullen