ESBiomech24 Congress in Edinburgh

Postdoc position in shoulder biomechanics @ETH Zurich

A post-doctoral research fellowship is available at the Institute for Biomechanics (ETH Zurich) under the guidance of Prof. Stephen Ferguson, in collaboration with the Schulthess Klinik represented by Prof. Philipp Moroder. The overarching goal is to establish a reference centre for shoulder biomechanics as a collaborative research group connecting the expertise of the partner institutions in clinical science, surgery, human movement analysis, experimental methods and computer simulation to better understand the mechanisms of shoulder injury and degeneration, to explore improved treatments of trauma and pathology and to establish objective measures of clinical outcome.

The post-doctoral research fellowship is available from 01. March 2023, initially funded for a period of three years, with the vision to extend this, contingent on the successful acquisition of additional third-party funding

For further details and application please visit:

https://www.jobs.ethz.ch/job/view/JOPG_ethz_y4jqbFuUYbH5kIYpcu

For more information, please contact Prof. Stephen Ferguson (sferguson@ethz.ch). Note that no applications will be accepted via email.

PhD position in Biomechanics & Modelling @Balgrist University Hospital and AO Research Institute Davos, Switzerland

Pseudoarthrosis is a common complication of spondylodesis and occurs in 5-35% of all cases. Besides biological factors, mechanics play a key role in the success of treatment and must be ensured by appropriate fixations. Validated patient-specific computer simulations could help avoiding mechanics-related issues in spondylodesis and thus reducing pseudarthrosis rates.

Within this context, the Spine Biomechanics group of the Balgrist University Hospital (Zurich, Switzerland) and the Biomedical Development Program of the AO Research Institute Davos (Davos, Switzerland) are looking for a highly motivated individual holding a master’s degree in engineering to work as a PhD student at the two hosts in a shared setting and to be enrolled in the PhD program of ETH Zurich. The successful candidate’s activities will be focused on the development and validation of an analysis framework combining biomechanical testing, medical image processing and computer simulations.

The position is available for a duration of 4 years. For further details and application please visit:

https://careers.aofoundation.org/job/Davos-Platz/860647301/

For more information, please contact Dr. Peter Varga (peter.varga@aofoundation.org). Note that no applications will be accepted via email.

PhD position on the role of hypoxia signaling in cartilage health @University of Oulu

Healthy cartilage functions in an environment with low oxygen levels (normoxia) and changes in oxygen sensing have been associated with osteoarthritis. This project aims to clarify hypoxia signaling in cartilage with varying mechanical loading and oxygen pressures. Ultimately our research aims to identify potential therapeutic molecules that can prevent cartilage degeneration and osteoarthritis.

The position is supervised by Dr. Mikko Finnilä, who has recently formed his own research group that studies musculoskeletal biomaterials. His group is focused on imaging and biomechanics of tissues and biomaterials to identify more effective materials for musculoskeletal repair. Group has active collaboration internationally as well as with local industry. The most important collaborators for this project are Prof. Marcy Zenobi-Wong (ETH Zurich) and Prof. Peppi Karppinen (Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine).

More information:

https://rekry.saima.fi/certiahome/open_job_view.html?did=5600&lang=en&id=000014020&jc=1

Two Faculty Positions in Mechanical Engineering @EPFL

The Institute of Mechanical Engineering invites applications for two faculty positions at the level of
tenure track Assistant Professors in the fields of Sustainable Manufacturing and Biomechanics.

For the position in Biomechanics, we seek applicants with a mechanics background who will address
research challenges related to the development of theoretical and computational models to investigate,
and potentially control or design, biological materials and systems. Research areas of interest include, but
are not limited to: (i) cell and tissue mechanics; (ii) architected biomaterials; (iii) prosthetic and assistive
mechanical devices; and (iv) pre-operative modeling for surgical interventions.

More information:

Postdoc position in Tomo-SAXS: Dynamic Tomographic and SAXS Imaging of Joint Mechanics @University College London

Closing date 30 september!

UCL is seeking to appoint a Research Fellow to be part of an international, EPSRC funded project to couple synchrotron micro-tomography and SAXS to enable imaging of fibrillar tissue in joints and intervertebral discs. The bioengineering challenge is to determine the correlated 3D deformation and structural changes at the molecular-, fibrillar-, and cell-matrix length-scales under physiological load in intact tissue, and how these alter in ageing, injury, and disease. You will be based at Harwell Campus where Diamond Light Source is located, but will also work with collaborators at QMUL, Manchester, and ESRF (Grenoble). You will also work as part of the CZI funded HiP-CT project scaling these techniques up to large animal and human (ex vivo) joints (see mecheng.ucl.ac.uk/hip-ct/).

Your goal will be to adapt in situ rigs for physiological loading for CT and SAXS imaging and develop experiments and analysis codes to measure strains at the nanoscale using digital volume correlation. A second PDRF will lead the 3D-SAXS development.

The successful candidate will join a dynamic international multidisciplinary group of engineers, biologists, beamline scientists, post-docs and PhD students developing and applying synchrotron X-ray and other techniques to study biological systems. The project is led by Dr H Gupta at QMUL, and Prof. PD Lee leads the UCL component. You will be based at Harwell Campus, but will perform experiments at Diamond, ESRF in Grenoble, and other locations.

The position is available immediate for 2 years.

More information:

https://atsv7.wcn.co.uk/search_engine/jobs.cgi?amNvZGU9MTg4NjUyMCZ2dF90ZW1wbGF0ZT05NjUmb3duZXI9NTA0MTE3OCZvd25lcnR5cGU9ZmFpciZicmFuZF9pZD0wJmpvYl9yZWZfY29kZT0xODg2NTIwJnBvc3RpbmdfY29kZT0yMjQ&jcode=1886520&vt_template=965&owner=5041178&ownertype=fair&brand_id=0&job_ref_code=1886520&posting_code=224

Postdoc position on numerical modelling of additively manufactured alloys @Uppsala University

Project description
Magnesium-based alloys are some of the most promising materials for future degradable implants. With the help of additive manufacturing, patient-specific implants can be created. However, there is limited knowledge of how to manufacture these types of materials using additive manufacturing. One of the challenges is the high reactivity of magnesium, which leads to evaporation in the chamber and too high levels of intermetallic compounds, resulting in excessive degradation rates. One solution could be amorphous alloys. This project aims to use numerical models to develop such types of materials, and design alloys with appropriate degradation and mechanical properties.

Work duties
The work duties within this interdisciplinary research project include conducting high-quality research, in collaboration with other team members, from the design and manufacturing of the alloys, to characterization of the same, results analysis and finally publication of the work. The work involves, among other things, to plan and carry out different types of studies in numerical modelling of materials, in particular through thermodynamic calculations and the development of numerical nucleation and growth models and their implementation in finite element software. Some verification experiments are also expected to be completed, including through synchrotron and neutron studies. The work also includes analysing the results and, through scientific articles and presentations at international conferences, spread the new knowledge.

The position may include some supervision of students in undergraduate and postgraduate education.

More information:

https://www.uu.se/en/about-uu/join-us/details/?positionId=542805

Application deadline: 25 October 2022!

PhD scholarship on Integrating Four-Dimensional Synchrotron Imaging and Computational Modeling at QUT/UPEC/USASK

Institutes: Queensland University of Technology (QUT, Australia), University of Paris Est (UPEC, France), and University of Saskatchewan (USASK, Canada).

Supervisors: Prof. Peter Pivonka (QUT, peter.pivonka@qut.edu.au) and Prof. Vittorio Sansalone (MSME UPEC, vittorio.sansalone@u-pec.fr)

Résumé: We seek to better understand how cortical bone is affected by osteoporosis and drug treatments. Longitudinal experimental data in a rabbit model of osteoporosis will be collected by Prof David Cooper (USASK) at the Canadian Synchrotron. The successful PhD candidate will use machine learning algorithms to assess morphological changes in cortical bone and to track bone remodeling units over time using co-registration techniques based on provided synchrotron imaging data. Additionally, the candidate will develop a computational model to predict changes in cortical porosity and effects on bone matrix properties due to osteoporosis and other treatment regimens developing state-of-the-art bone adaptation algorithms.

Closing date: Applications will be accepted until the scholarship is awarded, but applications will be assessed early October, 2022.

More information (salary, essential and desirable criteria, etc.) here:

PhD position in Neuroscience & Biomechanics @University of Limerick

The Esports Science Research lab in Lero at the University of Limerick was founded in 2019 and
is the first lab dedicated to pursuing excellence in esports health and performance science
research initiatives in Europe. With over 15 peer reviewed journal publications, multiple
industry collaborations and over 1.5 million in funding over the past 5 years, the lab, which
hosts a multidisciplinary team led by Professor Mark Campbell and Dr. Adam Toth, continues to
thrive and grow and is now proud to announce that it has been awarded funding to take on a
fully funded PhD student in the area of Neuroscience & Biomechanics under the supervision of
Dr. Toth and Professor Campbell.

More information:

PhD on Computational Assessment of Spinal Instability in Scoliosis @TUEindhoven

Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS) is a 3D deformity of the spine affecting previously healthy
children, substantially reducing their quality of life and creating a life-long burden of disease.
Till now, no curative treatment exists partly because its cause and disease mechanism are still
unknown. In this ERC funded project, we will uncover whether a complex perfect storm of
anatomical, biomechanical and mechanobiological causes in the intervertebral disc are
responsible AIS.

During the adolescent growth spurt, many changes are occurring in our spines. If tissue
maturation is not matched by increasing loads and changes in shape, this could lead to spinal
instability and excessive tissue strains. Until now this was not possible to study because AIS
only occurs in human children and there were no safe methods to image their spines
repeatedly during growth. In the ERC project, we are running a clinical study using newly
developed MRI-based synthetic CT imaging to collect such information in normal and AIS
children.

In this PhD research, we will first develop methods to generate subject-specific FE spine
models. These will be based on a combination of landmark recognition, statistical
shape/appearance modeling and machine learning methods. Once validated against imaging
and biomechanical data from cadaveric spines, subject-specific multi-scale motion segment
and spine models will be generated from the imaging data to explore spinal instability and
intervertebral disc deformations during growth in the children of the clinical study.

The PhD candidate will contribute to a multi-disciplinary team of biomedical engineers, imaging
scientists and spine surgeons, from the student to senior level, working on engineering,
biological, imaging and clinical studies. An educational and professional development program
is offered to all PhD candidates. You will also be involved in teaching courses, as well as
contribute to the supervision of bachelor and master students. Based on your research, you
will be expected to present at conferences, publish in scientific journals and write a doctoral
dissertation.

More information:

Postdoc position on Biomechanics of the octopus arm muscle hydrostat in the Bioinspired Soft Robotics Center @ Italian Institute of Technology (IIT)

At the Italian Institute of Technologies (IIT) we work enthusiastically to develop human-centered Science and Technology to tackle some of the most pressing societal challenges of our times. You’d be working in a multicultural and multi-disciplinary group, where engineers, computational scientists, and biologists experts collaborate, each with their own expertise, to carry out common research.

A Fellow position for Graduate students or Post-doc on the project: OctoNesys ‘Deciphering the novel principles of the octopus neuromuscular systems control’ is available in the group of Dr. of Letizia Zullo, researcher of the IIT Bioinspired Soft Robotics and Center for Synaptic Neuroscience and Technology (NSYN) of Genoa, Italy.

This research focus on investigating ‘Motor control of the Octopus vulgaris arm’ to gain inspiration for soft robotics using technique of muscle biomechanics, electrophysiology, motion kinematics, neural tracing and imaging. The successful candidate will have a strong background in muscle Biomechanics and/or

Neuroscience. Further experience on motion kinematics and coding (Matlab or Python) is an added value.

This position is full time, with funding for 12 months with a competitive salary and starting from October 15th. It may be subject to renewal based on founding availability. Graduate students and Post-doc are welcome to apply.

Job Location is the Center for Synaptic Neuroscience and Technology (NSYN) @ IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genova, Genova, Italy

For further details about this project please contact letizia.zullo@iit.it

To apply please send your cv and motivation letter to letizia.zullo@iit.it

For more information about the research group you can visit https://www.iit.it/it/web/guest/people/-/people/letizia-zullo


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