Congratulations to Roshan D’Souza, who received a 2023 Office of Research/ UWM Foundation Research Award in June. These awards recognize assistant and associate professors who have demonstrated the potential to achieve distinction in their academic disciplines through scholarship, creative activity, and the dissemination of knowledge.
D’Souza is an Alan D. Kulwicki ’77 faculty fellow and associate professor of mechanical engineering in UWM’s College of Engineering & Applied Science.
His research centers on advancing hemodynamics (blood flow) analysis of cardiovascular diseases through advanced processing of blood flow images from scans such as 4D Flow MRI using flow physics informed deep learning.
The National Science Foundation awarded him $1.1 million in September to research the hemodynamics from subtraction computed tomography angiography (sCTA), a complex, non-invasive diagnostic imaging technique to access cerebral artery stenosis, or arteries in the brain that are fully or partially blocked. The condition can lead to strokes.
In 2021, the NSF awarded him $298,500 for research to advance the newest generation of MRI technology: 4D-Flow magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The technology adds a time dimension to this traditionally 3D technology, making it possible to image and analyze biological processes, such hemodynamics, over time and track variations.
In March 2022, the College of Engineering & Applied Science recognized D’Souza with a named fellowship.
But it is the path D’Souza chose to get to this point that most impresses his UWM colleagues.
Change in research focus; $2.6 M in federal funding
D’Souza started at UWM in 2009, pursuing research in the field of manufacturing. Seven years later, he redirected his focus to medical image processing.
“Changing one’s research focus is challenging and frustrating, but he was unwavering in his commitment,” says Deyang Qu, a UWM distinguished professor, Johnson Controls Endowed Professor in Energy Storage Research, and chair of UWM’s Department of Mechanical Engineering.
“My colleagues and I are most impressed by his resilience and persistence. Roshan is a role model to senior faculty members who want to restart or redirect their research into a new area.”
As principal investigator, D’Souza procured $2.6 million in federal funding.
For this award, he will receive $1,500 and be honored at the UWM Awards Ceremony in the fall.