Free Education PhD Student (m/f) ‘Heart in 3D’ Project at Netherland

Department/faculty: Applied Sciences
Level: Master degree
Working hours: 38 hours per week (1 FTE)
Contract: Four years
Salary: Maximum of € 2558 per month gross

The project ‘Heart in 3D’ is a collaboration of four biomedical imaging research groups at three universities: 1) Delft University of Technology (Quantitative Imaging Group, Faculty of Applied Sciences and ICT group, Department of Mediamatics, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Informatics); 2) Leiden University Medical Centre (Division of Image Processing [LKEB], Department of Radiology, www.lkeb.nl); 3) Erasmus Medical Centre Rotterdam (Biomedical Imaging Group Rotterdam [BIGR], Department of Radiology, www.bigr.nl). Each group has specific and complementary expertises in cardiovascular image processing and analysis; they have now joined forces within the project ‘Heart in 3D’.
Job description
Cardiovascular diseases are increasingly diagnosed using multimodal imaging (combinations of MRI, CT and SPECT). One goal of the “Heart in 3D” project is to develop algorithms and software to connect three types of diagnostic information on heart function (the status of the coronary arteries, myocardial perfusion and ventricular function) from multimodality imaging studies. Novel algorithms and quantitative analysis tools will be developed to support diagnosis and disease staging in cardiovascular disease.
We are looking for a creative PhD student with a background in image processing or data fusion, to work on highly desired methods in radiological and cardiologic practice. The PhD student will investigate new methods for information fusion from multimodal imaging data. This will involve artificially intelligent approaches to image registration, interpretation and data fusion for diagnosing heart disease. The PhD student’s research priority will be: Modelling the diseased vessel wall of the coronary arteries. Results will be presented in scientific papers and at international conferences, and the developed technologies will be tested together with clinical and industrial partners. You will work in a multidisciplinary team with clinical and technical researchers at Delft University of Technology and Erasmus Medical Centre, and collaborate with Leiden University Medical Centre.

Requirements
You hold an MSc degree in Informatics, (Bio-)Engineering or Physics. Preferably, you have experience with object-oriented interactive programming in C++ and Matlab. You also have affinity with (bio)medical research, medical image processing, image registration and segmentation. You have a clear interest in the application and utilization of (bio)medical, technological research. Your communication skills are excellent and you are an enthusiastic team-player, attentive to detail and committed. You should have the intention of earning a PhD degree within approximately 4 years.

Conditions of employment
The successful candidate will be employed full-time by TU Delft for a fixed period of 4 years within which he or she is expected to write a dissertation leading to a doctoral degree (PhD thesis). The monthly salary for a PhD will be to a maximum of € 2558 gross in the fourth year. Benefits and other employment conditions are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities. Delft University of Technology strives to increase the number of women in higher academic positions; women are therefore especially encouraged to apply.

Information and application
For more information about this position, please contact Prof dr W.J. Niessen, Biomedical Imaging Group Rotterdam (Erasmus MC Rotterdam), phone: +31 (0)10-7043050, e-mail: w.niessen@erasmusmc.nl. To apply, please e-mail a detailed CV along with a letter of application before March 30 2008 to Prof dr W.J. Niessen. Please ensure attachments in your e-mail (e.g., your CV, references or publications list) are in Microsoft Word or PDF format. When applying for this position, make sure to mention vacancy number TNWIST08-010.

http://www.vacaturesindelft.nl/vacature.php?id=1052&lang=eng