The Myocarditis Foundation is pleased to announce a 2025 Research Fellowship Grant being awarded to Dr. Katelyn Bruno, PhD
Dr. Katelyn Bruno, of the University of Florida is being awarded the Grant in memory of a young man, John Phillip Mello, who lost his life in 2017 from Viral Myocarditis. His family has been very supportive of the Myocarditis Foundation by raising both awareness of the disease and funds to support research for myocarditis. This is the second grant in his memory that they have funded.
Dr. Katelyn Bruno received her Ph.D. in Environmental Health Sciences, with a focus on Molecular and Translational Toxicology, from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2016 under the mentorship of DeLisa Fairweather. She then went on to complete a Postdoctoral Fellowship with both Dr. Fairweather and Leslie Cooper at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, before becoming an Assistant Professor at Mayo Clinic in 2021. In 2022, she joined the University of Florida’s Division of Cardiovascular Medicine as an Assistant Professor with affiliated appointments in the Department of Physiology and Aging and later the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics. The Bruno Lab focuses on investigating the mechanisms of myocarditis, specifically by examining sex and age factors, in order to identify new diagnostic tools (biomarkers and imaging) and therapeutics for acute myocarditis and dilated cardiomyopathy.
Dr. Bruno’s personal statement:
I started my PhD thinking that I would work on cancer research, but after the first two weeks of my PhD, when I learned about myocarditis, I knew that that was where I belonged. This was reinforced after I attended my first Myocarditis Family Support Meeting as a 1st year PhD student, where I met not just leading researchers and clinicians in the myocarditis field, but also families who had been touched in some way by the condition that I was becoming passionate about as a researcher. Then, at a Myocarditis Foundation Family Support Meeting in 2015, when my son was three months old, I met a family who had lost their newborn son due to myocarditis and another family who lost a 3 year old, this touched my heart as a new mother, and that was when I knew I wanted to specifically study pediatric myocarditis, especially knowing there are so few investigators in the myocarditis field and even fewer studying pediatric disease. My career has been shaped and enhanced by the Myocarditis Foundation, and I am honored to receive this research award in memory of John Phillip.
Dr. Bruno’s Research Project is titled: “Investigation into Presentation and Progression of Pediatric Myocarditis”. She will be working with patients at both the University of Florida as well as Texas Children’s Hospital in her research.
Dr. Bruno’s Layman’s Explanation of her Research Project:
Myocarditis is a significant and underrecognized cause of sudden cardiac death in children and young adults. Studies show that myocarditis is the cause of sudden death in up to 12% of young adults and 17% in children. Pediatric patients often experience a worse disease course, with rapid progression, persistent cardiac issues, and a higher likelihood of death or the need for heart transplantation compared to adults. Sex-based disparities in myocarditis incidence and severity are well-documented, with males exhibiting higher susceptibility than females.
Despite its clinical significance, myocarditis lacks disease-specific diagnostic tools and targeted therapies for specific for pediatric, adult, and elderly patients. This gap underscores a crucial need to comprehend the variations in how myocarditis develops across different age groups. Such insights could pave the way for individualized medicine approaches tailored to vulnerable pediatric subgroups.
This study will enroll both pediatric and adult patients at the University of Florida and Texas Children’s Hospital to identify differences between pediatric and adult myocarditis patients by sex and age. This project is expected to open new research horizons for viral myocarditis and facilitate a deeper understanding of pediatric disease.
Dr. Bruno’s Professional Credentials & Contributions
Dr. Bruno is actively involved in various organizations, including serving as a faculty advisor for the University of Florida RegeneGators student organization, Deputy Director of the University of Florida Center of Regenerative Medicine, and holding committee leadership roles in societies such as HFSA, FCACC, OSSD, and ISCMF. Dr. Bruno has received numerous awards and honors for her work, including the ESC-HFA Young Investigator of the Year award, Fellowships from the HFSA and ACC, the Special Achievement Award from ACC, and the Outstanding Young Alumni Award from her alma mater, Sam Houston State University. Dr. Bruno is active in mentoring learners, including high school, undergraduate, graduate, and medical students, as well as cardiology fellows. Dr. Bruno’s research has been supported by the National Institute of Health (NIH), the American Heart Association (AHA), the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), the For Elysa Foundation, and the University of Florida.
