POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER, BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
CARDIOVASCULAR BIOMECHANICS
Venkat Keshav Chivukula, PhD
"Keshav"
ABOUT ME
My story begins halfway around the world in the bustling city of Mumbai. Upon completing my undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering, I embarked upon a truly amazing journey that has been nothing short of a roller-coaster ride for the past six years as I completed my masters, and then my PhD. I also ended up married along the way!! Some snapshots of my journey are highlighted below..
B.E. Mechanical Engineering
The University of Mumbai 2008
I completed my bachelors in mechanical engineering from The University of Mumbai, India in 2008. I felt drawn to the wonderful world of fluid mechanics which piqued my interest and motivated me to travel over 8000 miles to...
M.S Mechanical Engineering
The University of Arizona 2010
From the humid climate of Mumbai to the scorching heat of Tucson,AZ! I experienced my first major foray into fluid dynamics research at the Experimental Fluid Mechanics and Instabilities Laboratory at The University of Arizona, and specialized in thermal-fluids.
Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering
The University of Iowa 2014
Around this time, my grandfather passed away due to multiple organ failure. This motivated me to apply fluid mechanics principles to blood flow, as blood is a fluid too! 110 Degree summers morphed into -10 degrees winters in Iowa City at the cardiovascular fluid mechanics lab where I specialized in micro-scale blood flow simulations and cancer research.
Postdoctoral Researcher, Biomedical Engineering
Oregon Health and Sciences University 2015
Upon completion of my PhD, I moved to Portland for continuing my research in cardiovascular fluid mechanics at the Cardiovascular mechanics laboratory. My current focus is subject-specific CFD modeling of embryonic blood flow to investigate congenital heart diseases (CHD) and patient-specific abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA).
Postdoctoral Researcher, Biomedical Engineering
University of Washington Current
After a short (but eventful) stay in Portland, I moved to the University of Washington, Seattle. At the Multiphase and Cardiovascular Flow Lab, I am currently researching on improving heart failure and cerebral aneurysms / stroke treatment and medical device implantation.
My hobbies and interests
In addition to performing cardiovascular research, I love to teach and engage in outreach activities to promote science education. I volunteer for non-profit organizations especially to promote education for the underprivileged, women empowerment and socio-economic development in developing countries. I love to read, hike, cook (and eat!) and going on long drives. I also love photography, painting and write prose and poetry.