On July 1, 2025, Nicholas Burris, MD began a 5-year term as the inaugural David A. Bluemke, MD, PhD Professorship in Radiology. Dr. Burris formally received the honor at the 2025 University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health Faculty Investiture Celebration, held on June 18, 2025.
“Dr. Burris has spent over 10 years pushing the boundaries of our understanding of aortic diseases through imaging, inventing new methods along the way,” said Department Chair Scott Reeder, MD, PhD. “His efforts are multi-disciplinary, highly collaborative and have uncovered new disease paradigms that may dramatically advance care for patients with diseases of the aorta. He is an exceptional researcher, inventor and colleague.”
Faculty member David Bluemke, MD, MSB, PhD’s parents, Dorothy and the late Duane Bluemke, established the professorship in their son’s honor in 2023 with the intent of attracting or retaining existing talent to the Department of Radiology. As a recent addition to the faculty, the professorship recognizes Dr. Burris for his work developing cutting-edge techniques in cardiovascular imaging.
In January 2025, Dr. Burris joined the department as an associate professor in the Section of Cardiovascular Imaging and director of aortic imaging. Previously, he practiced at the University of Michigan with a dual appointment in the Radiology and Biomedical Imaging departments. During his time in Michigan, Dr. Burris served as director of structural heart imaging and associate director of the multi-disciplinary aortic program (MI-AORTA).
His research focuses on various techniques for advanced aortic imaging, including the examination of 4D Flow MRI to define hemodynamic factors that promote risk of complications in aortic dissection, the subject of a 5-year, National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 funded project. Further, he closely collaborated with industry partners on the invention and development of vascular deformation mapping (VDM), and image analysis technique for 3D quantification of aortic growth, an effort funded by an NIH Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant.
At the investiture ceremony, Dr. Burris received support not only from his peers but from the individuals who made this honor possible.
“Having Dr. Bluemke and his family at the investiture ceremony was truly special,” said Dr. Burris. “While I already knew David well as a respected colleague, it was an honor to get to know his mother, Dorothy, and sister, Susan, more personally. Their family’s generous gift will have a lasting impact on my research and academic goals, and being able to thank them in person—and share a bit about myself and my own family—made the occasion especially meaningful.”
|
|
|
