Derek is a third-year PhD candidate in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Virginia. As a member of the Cardiac Biomechanics Group, he develops computer models to study heart growth and remodeling in response to both disease and therapy. Derek utilizes machine learning to predict patient response to cardiac resynchronization therapy and also builds mechanics-based models to investigate shape changes in the heart following a heart attack. When Derek is not behind the screen of his laptop, he is either playing sports with his friends, doing handstands in the gym, or watching Pixar movies.