BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Melissa Wellons, M.D., assistant professor of preventive medicine at UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham), has been named to the American Heart Association’s (AHA) 2007 Trudy Bush Fellowship for Cardiovascular Disease in Women’s Health. The award recognizes her ongoing research on the connection between menopause and cardiovascular disease.

Wellons has been investigating the complex relationship between menopause and cardiovascular disease. While she has observed that women who go through menopause at an early age are likely to have more coronary artery calcification, she is now exploring how other risk factors, such as smoking, may impact this finding.

Wellons will present a lecture on early menopause and coronary artery calcium during the AHA’s 47th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease and Epidemiology and Prevention March 2 in Orlando, Fla.

The Trudy Bush Fellowship honors researchers for their contributions to women’s health and cardiovascular science. The late Dr. Bush was a professor of preventive medicine at the University of Maryland in Baltimore and widely recognized as a leader in the field of cardiovascular disease prevention.