The VCU Health Pauley Heart Center is thrilled to announce that the 2026 Dr. Carolyn McCue Award for Woman Cardiologist of the Year has been awarded to Martha Gulati, MD, MS. Dr. Gulati is the inaugural director of the Davis Women’s Heart Center at Houston Methodist Debakey Heart & Vascular Center in Houston, Texas. A preventive cardiologist, her research has utilized innovative approaches to understanding sex differences in cardiovascular disease, and her findings have fundamentally shifted the landscape of cardiovascular medicine and women’s heart health.

Established in 2008 and funded by a grant from the McCue family, the McCue Award honors the late Carolyn Moore McCue, MD. Dr. McCue was one of the few female cardiologists of her time and served as the first woman elected president of the Richmond Academy of Medicine. During her 42 years of medical practice at the Medical College of Virginia (MCV, now VCU Health), she also created and chaired MCV’s Pediatric Cardiology Division and played a vital role in establishing pediatric cardiology clinics in medically underserved communities throughout Virginia. 

“I am deeply honored to receive the 2026 Carolyn McCue Award for Women Cardiologist of the Year,” Gulati said “This recognition is not only a personal milestone, but also a reflection of the many women in cardiology who inspire, challenge, and uplift one another. I accept this award with gratitude and with renewed commitment to advancing cardiovascular care, championing women’s heart health, and mentoring the next generation of leaders in our field.”

Dr. Gulati will be presented with the McCue Award at the Pauley Heart Center’s eleventh annual Heart Health in Women Symposium, held at the Science Museum of Virginia on February 21, 2026. Dr. Gulati will also serve as keynote speaker at the conference. The Heart Health in Women Conference was created by the Pauley Heart Center in 2015 to provide healthcare practitioners in central Virginia (and beyond) with a comprehensive understanding of the unique presentations, treatments, and outcomes of heart disease in women. The ultimate goal of the conference is to improve cardiac care for all women in Virginia.

“Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in women — which is one of the many reasons why we host the Heart Health in Women Symposium each year,” said Greg Hundley, MD, director of the VCU Health Pauley Heart Center. “But more than 80% of all cardiovascular disease is preventable. Dr. Gulati’s work and research as a preventive cardiologist is vital to stopping tomorrow’s heart disease today. I’m excited to be able to recognize Dr. Gulati for her contributions to our field at our 2026 symposium, and more importantly, to hear her wisdom and insights on how to best prevent heart disease in women.”

About Martha Gulati, MD, MS

Martha Gulati, MD, MS, FACC, FAHA, MASPC, FESC, FSCCT (honorary) is the Immediate Past President of the American Society for Preventive Cardiology. Prior to her leadership of the Davis Women’s Heart Center, she was a professor of cardiology at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles, where she served as the director of prevention, the associate director of the Barbra Streisand Women's Heart Center, and held the Anita Dann Friedman Endowed Chair in Women’s Cardiovascular Medicine and Research. She was formerly the inaugural Chief of Cardiology at the University of Arizona. She is the author of the bestselling book Saving Women’s Hearts. She served as the chair of the national chest pain guidelines from the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology. She also served as editor-in-chief of CardioSmart, the patient education arm of the American College of Cardiology.

Her exceptional commitment to the study of women and cardiac diseases has won her numerous awards and distinctions, including being named by Crain’s Chicago Business as one of Chicago’s Top 40 under 40. In 2011, she received the first CREDO (Coalition to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Cardiovascular Outcomes) Award from the American College of Cardiology that was given to honor her contributions to improve cardiovascular healthcare of women patients. In 2012, she was awarded the National Red Dress Award for her efforts in raising awareness of heart disease in women and advancing research in this field. In 2019, she was chosen as the most influential woman in Arizona and received the 2019 American College of Cardiology’s Bernadine Healy Award for her leadership and accomplishment in the field of cardiovascular disease in women. In 2023, she was awarded the Arthur Agatston Award in Cardiovascular Disease prevention from the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT).

She is the principal investigator of the St. James Women Take Heart Project, a study that examined cardiac risk factors in women, and set standards for women’s fitness levels and heart rate response to exercise. She is the site PI and coinvestigator of the WARRIOR (Women's IschemiA TRial to Reduce Events In Non-ObstRuctive CAD) trial, funded by the Department of Defense. She also is a co-investigator on the Women Ischemic Syndrome Evaluation (WISE) study and previously served as a co-investigator on the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI).  She has published articles in peer-reviewed publications, including The New England Journal of Medicine, Circulation, and Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). She has also been featured on Oprah.

Dr. Gulati is Canadian and completed medical school at the University of Toronto, Canada. She went on to complete her internship, residency and cardiology fellowship at the University of Chicago. She received a Masters’ in Science at the University of Chicago and is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, the American Society for Preventive Cardiology & the European Society of Cardiology.

About the VCU Health Pauley Heart Center

Founded more than 20 years ago, the Pauley Heart Center is today the top rated heart hospital in Virginia. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death nationwide and in Virginia, and despite advances in prevention and treatment in recent decades, disproportionately affects individuals with poor social determinants of health. Pauley’s mission is to improve cardiovascular care and reduce health disparities for all through research, community engagement, education, and clinical care that is the best in the Commonwealth. Pauley clinicians and researchers have pioneered many of the treatments and devices that are now cardiovascular standards of care across the world. Headquartered at VCU Health in Richmond with outpatient centers throughout central and southeast Virginia, Pauley provides clinical services and community education and outreach programs throughout the region.