Driving principles within JACC: CardioOncology are to publish excellent, rigorous original research and grow the international community by strengthening the pipeline of young investigators and clinicians. Consistent with this, we are extraordinarily pleased to recognize and congratulate the following recipient of the JACC: CardioOncology 2022 Young Author Award, Megan Mulholland. This award acknowledges not only the work of Megan Mulholland but also her mentor, Professor Daniel Engelbertsen. I recently had the great opportunity to speak with Megan Mulholland for JACC: CardioOncology Pulse, and she emphasized to me the importance of Professor Engelbertsen’s mentorship in positively impacting her career. We look forward to continuing to publish the rigorous work of carefully mentored young investigators to advance actionable science and the care of our patients.
Megan Mulholland, MSc
Paper: LAG3 Regulates T Cell Activation and Plaque Infiltration in Atherosclerotic Mice 1
Megan Mulholland, MSc, is currently in the final year of her PhD studies working in the lab of Dr Engelbertsen as part of the Cardiovascular Research - Cellular Metabolism and Inflammation unit at Lund University. Her thesis is centered on how the regulation of T cells contributes to plaque pathogenesis in atherosclerosis. As such, she has been specializing in the field of flow cytometry of leukocyte populations from various mouse models. Recently, her research has started to shift toward the crossover between cardiology and oncology, investigating how checkpoint immunotherapy may affect cardiovascular outcomes. Although both her PhD studies and master’s degree will be completed at Lund University in Sweden, Megan is originally from Florida and completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Florida.
Mentor: Daniel Engelbertsen, PhD
Dr Engelbertsen is an associate professor and group leader at Cardiovascular Research - Cellular Metabolism and Inflammation, Lund University. His research is focused on understanding mechanisms that regulate T-cell activation in atherosclerotic plaques, with a particular focus on the role of coinhibitory receptors and cardio-oncology. Dr Engelbertsen was previously a postdoctoral fellow at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, in the lab of Professor Andrew H. Lichtman before returning to Lund University to start his own research lab.
Reference
- 1.Mulholland M., Kritikou E., Katra P., et al. LAG3 regulates T cell activation and plaque infiltration in atherosclerotic mice. J Am Coll Cardiol CardioOnc. 2022;4(5):635–645. doi: 10.1016/j.jaccao.2022.09.005. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]