PhD and postdoc opportunities - September 2023

Research Assistant
Faculty of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering - University of Rostock

Tasks and Responsibilities

• research in the field of modelling and simulation of electrical stimulation for tissue engineering with the aim of own scientific qualification (habilitation)
• active participation in the research activities of the SFB 1270 ELAINE
• experimental validation in cooperation with other SFB members
• participation in research projects of the Chair of Electromagnetic Field Theory
• preparation and scientific conception of research projects and the associated application for the acquisition of third-party funding
• writing publications in high-impact scientific journals
• teaching in the amount of approx. 4 SWS semester periods per week in the fields of computational science and engineering as well as electrical engineering, whereby the focus is on preparing students to solve problems independently following the guidelines of good research practice
• conception, preparation, and correction of exams as well as supervision of bachelor and master students

• completed academic university studies (Master's degree or comparable degree) in computational science and engineering, electrical engineering, physics or a similar subject with close relation to tissue engineering or PDE-based modelling with at least a good result
• doctorate completed or demonstrably in the process of being completed in one of the above-mentioned subjects, ideally with very good results
• publications in the field of electrical stimulation for tissue engineering
• very good knowledge of electromagnetic field theory
• very good programming skills, ideally in Python, and good knowledge of parallel computing
• very good knowledge of the German and English languages, both written and spoken
• experience in teaching

Deadline: September 21st 2023

PhD position physics-based and data-driven cardiovascular system dynamics modeling
Delft University of Technology
Asst Prof Mathias Peirlinck

Enhance the quality of life of heart failure patients by utilising advanced physics-based and data-driven models to gain deeper insights into the dynamics of the cardiovascular system.

The goal of this PhD project is to investigate complex cardiovascular system dynamics in both healthy and heterogeneous HFpEF and HFmrEF populations through mathematical models of the human heart and circulation.

The PhD candidate will be supervised by dr. ir. M. Peirlinck at the department of Biomechanical Engineering, Delft University of Technology. His research group integrates multimodal experimental data, physics-based modeling and machine learning techniques to understand, explore, and predict the multiscale behavior of the human heart and cardiovascular system. More information on the team and research can be found on https://peirlincklab.com.

Deadline: September 30th 2023

More info and application HERE

____________________________

PhD position on neuro-musculo-skeletal analysis of human movement in real time including muscle fatigue
University of Coruña

A pre-doctoral contract is offered (former FPI scholarships) at the University of Coruña (Spain), associated with the national project “Capture, reconstruction and neuro-musculo-skeletal analysis of human movement in real time, with consideration of muscle fatigue“, financed by the Ministry of Science and Innovation.

This project intends to analyze, in real time, any human movement in progress, obtaining information on not only kinematic magnitudes (position, velocity and acceleration of body segments and points in said segments), but also dynamics (joint torques, external reactions), including those that involve descending to the muscular level (excitations, activations and muscular forces, joint reactions, energetic cost, muscular fatigue). The results of this research are highly applicable in the thematic priority of Health, particularly in healthy exercise, rehabilitation, ergonomics and sport, providing tools for tutoring and activity monitoring (biofeedback), which facilitate the execution of movements according to a certain pattern, the follow-up of the user's evolution, the improvement of his technique, the prevention of injuries, etc.

More info HERE (download pdf)

____________________________

Post Doc Progenitor Cell Biology and Mechanoregulation
AO Foundation

The mission of the AO Research Institute (ARI) is excellence in applied Preclinical Research and Development within trauma and disorders of the musculoskeletal system and translation of this knowledge to achieve more effective patient care worldwide. The ARI contributes high quality applied Preclinical Research and Development (exploratory and translational) focused towards clinical applications/solutions as well as investigates and improves the performance of surgical procedures, devices and substances. It fosters a close relationship with the AO medical community, academic societies, and universities and provides a research environment and support for AO clinicians.

In this role, you will be required to:

• Plan and conduct in vitro experiments on using a multiaxial load bioreactor system
• Contribute to cartilage regeneration experiments
• Establish and utilize molecular methods for musculoskeletal tissue
• Optimise loading protocols for human MSC chondrogenesis

To master this challenge, you have

• PhD in biology or related field
• Experience in cell culture and laboratory techniques (e.g. histology, confocal microscopy, flow cytometry)
• Experience in molecular biology
• Experience in planning and executing research projects with publication of results
• Experience in supervision is beneficial (e.g. bachelor, master students)
• We require good English language skills
• A helpful workplace behavior or attitudes

More info and application HERE

____________________________

Senior postdoctoral researcher in computer methods for European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant O-Health
Prof. Jérôme Noailly - Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain

4-5-year postdoctoral position for our research line Computer methods for modeling based on finite elements and agents in multiscale simulations, within the context of the O-Health project.

• You will be responsible for the development of the multiscale simulation platform of the O-Health project. This platform shall integrate finite element (organ/tissue level), agent-based (multicellular models) and graph-based (large- or low-scale knowledge projection, single cell) models and solvers.
• You shall focus on the conversion of the physics- and biology-based models created at the BMMB, into interoperable tools within automated simulation flows, for bottom-up and top-down modelling & simulations in O-Health.
• You will define, program and implement the simulation workflows, by using and adapting existing open solutions for interoperability and execution, such as SBML, HDF5 and MUSCLE.
• You will periodically report to the PI, make sure that the project deadlines and deliverables are met, and you are expected to communicate and disseminate adequately your results through the media, and through scientific /medical congresses and journals.

Beyond the project, you shall become gradually responsible for the overall interoperability, reuse and verifiability of the models of the BMMB, according to the FAIR principles. Depending on the performance during the time of the project, professional consolidation at the DTIC will be encouraged.

More info HERE

____________________________

PhD position Digital Twins in Healthcare: Credible Personalised Modelling of Orthostatic Hypotension
Faculty of Science, Mathematics & Computer Science - University of Amsterdam

The risk of falling and experiencing major complications increases significantly with age. It is estimated that one-third of individuals aged over 65 fall at least once a year, and among these incidents, 20% result in severe injuries. Orthostatic Hypotension (OH) is one of the most common cardiovascular risk factors for falls.

Tasks and responsibilities:
In this project you will enhance the generalised cardiovascular models and develop "personalised" models capable of predicting the fall risk of a person at an early stage. You will perform sensitivity analysis and inverse uncertainty quantification to parameterise the model based on stratified clinical data sets, followed by validation studies on other datasets. Drawing from detailed time-resolved beat-to-beat measurements of blood pressure, cerebral blood flow and cerebral oxygenation taken from individual patients, you will personalise the models. Finally, the short-time dynamics model will be coupled to the long-time clinical predictions of the risk of the patient to experience the OH-related falls in the next years by using statistical and AI-based models. For more information, please see here and references therein.

Your experience and profile:

• Master's degree in Computational science, Computer science, Bioinformatics, or related field;
• Programming skills (with Python as preferred programming language);
• Fluent in written and spoken English, as demonstrated by either a MSc degree in English or a certificate of the language proficiency tests (TOEFL, Academic IELTS, or Cambridge).
• Knowledge of hypotension physiological processes is not required, but would be a bonus.

Closing date: 30 November 2023

More info and application HERE