Aron Geurts, PhD, associate professor of physiology at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), is the recipient of the $25,000 Steve Cullen Healthy Heart Scholar Award. This first ever award was developed to identify and honor a junior or mid-career MCW scientist involved in cutting-edge cardiovascular research.
At MCW’s Cardiovascular Center and at the Human Molecular Genetics Center, Dr. Geurts pioneers and applies innovative genetic engineering technologies to model human cardiovascular diseases, including heart disease, hypertension and Type 1 diabetes. Dr. Geurts will use the scholarship funds in his accelerated efforts to model genetic variation in human stem cells which will lead to a better understanding of cardiovascular disease and new avenues for specific therapeutic approaches.
Dr. Geurts received his training at the University of Minnesota, completing his PhD in molecular, cellular and developmental biology and genetics in 2006, the same year he joined MCW. In 2011, Dr. Geurts was awarded the New Innovator Award from the Office of the Director for the National Institutes of Health for his efforts to advance genetic engineering technology. He has presented several dozen regional, national and international lectures, workshops and presentations; co-written 39 refereed journal publications and original papers; and contributed to seven books, chapters and reviews.
The Steve Cullen Healthy Heart Scholar Award is funded by proceeds from the annual Steve Cullen Healthy Heart Club Run/Walk that is held in memory of Steve Cullen, a former Milwaukee alderman, who died at the age of 40 of sudden cardiac arrhythmia. His father and two of his brothers also died of heart disease. The Steve Cullen Healthy Heart Club Run/Walk has grown in attendance by over 500% since its inception and has raised more than $360,000 for life-saving cardiovascular research and awareness. In addition to the scholarship, proceeds also support heart research at the Cardiovascular Center at MCW, where more than 170 faculty physicians and research scientists study the causes, prevention and treatment of heart disease. To learn more about the Cullen Run, visit cullenrun.com.