Fatima Merchant

Dr. Fatima Merchant is a Professor and Department Chair in the Department of Engineering Technology at the University of Houston, part of the Cullen College of Engineering. She holds additional appointments in Biomedical Engineering, Electrical & Computer Engineering, and Computer Science. Her research focuses on computational medicine, 3D imaging technologies, and biomedical robotics, with applications in healthcare equity and surgical outcomes. She leads the Computational Biology & Medicine Laboratory, which develops engineering solutions for medical challenges like breast reconstruction and early disease detection.

Education:

• Certificate in Bioinformatics, University of British Columbia (2002)
• PhD/MS in Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin (1995/1992)
• BS in Engineering, University of Bombay (1989)

Research Interests: Dr. Merchant’s work spans interdisciplinary domains including 3D medical imaging, computational health informatics, and robotic systems for agriculture. Her lab has pioneered advancements in breast symmetry analysis post-surgery, lymphatic imaging for disease detection, and automated harvesting systems for mushrooms. She integrates machine learning and biomedical engineering to address clinical challenges such as lymphedema monitoring and patient-specific reconstruction planning.

Key Contributions:

• Director of the NIH-funded NIMHD RCMI HEALTH Center’s Research Infrastructure Core (2020–present)
• Associate Editor of Biomedical Engineering Online Journal
• Recipient of grants from NIH, NSF, and industry partnerships

Service & Leadership: Dr. Merchant chairs multiple university committees, including the Faculty Senate and Title IX Grievance Committee. She advocates for diversity in STEM and mentors early-career researchers through initiatives like ADVANCE at UH.

Labs & Teams: The Computational Biology & Medicine Lab (CBML) under her leadership fosters collaboration between engineers, clinicians, and data scientists to advance healthcare technologies. Current projects include AI-driven surgical planning tools and precision agriculture robotics.