Jose de Jesus Rico Jimenez, graduate student in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been named recipient of the Texas A&M Dissertation Fellowship.
The fellowship supports a student’s final analyses and dissertation writing. It offers $1,500 per month, to be disbursed in monthly payments, payment for tuition and required fees for the minimum number of required credit hours, and a reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses related to individual health insurance coverage.
Jimenez, who is advised by Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering Javier Jo, is developing computational tools for the automated processing of data collected using different optical imaging modalities. Specifically, he is developing several computational platforms for the clinical detection of high-risk coronary atherosclerotic plaques, the leading cause of death in the United States. Towards this goal, he is using a unique intravascular imaging approach that integrates optical coherence tomography and fluorescence lifetime imaging, Jo notes.
As a fellowship recipient, Jimenez will participate in an intensive writing workshop aimed at assisting students in progressing through the difficult writing stages of their dissertations and towards the completion of their dissertations.
“Jose has superb background in computer sciences and is not only very focused and hard working but is also able to formulate his own hypotheses and test them under minimal supervision,” Jo said. “He is also a great team player and has been assisting several of his lab mates, developing different computational tools for their respective research needs.”