Regenerative medicine (RM) holds the promise to cure many of what are now chronic patients, restoring health rather than protracting decline, bettering the lives of millions and at the same time preventing lifelong, expensive care processes: cure instead of care. The scientific community has made large steps in this direction over the past decade, however our understanding of the fundamentals of cell, tissue and organ regeneration and of how to stimulate and guide this with intelligent biomaterials in the human body is still in its infancy. Materials properties such as elasticity, topography, hydrophobicity, and porosity have all been shown to influence cell fate, and the introduction of high-throughput combinatorial approaches is expediting research. However, in order to improve the design of synthetic biomaterials, it is crucial to understand the physiological cell-biomaterial interactions and how these influence the tissue remodeling process. This research project aims to use in silico models to simulate physiological and fibrotic cell-ECM interactions, including dynamic tissue remodeling through ECM deposition and alignment, to improve our fundamental understanding thereof and use the obtained knowledge to design improved synthetic matrices.  

Project description:

• Computational modeling of tissue remodeling to inform the design of synthetic matrices
• Multiscale modeling: coupling ABM to FEM to investigate the role of dynamic tissue compositions and alignment
• Parameter optimization and sensitivity analysis
• Analysis and integration of various in vitro/in vivo data for model calibration

More information:

https://www.academictransfer.com/en/323433/phd-position-merln-computational-modeling-of-fibrotic-scarring/

EPSRC DTP PhD studentship

Duration: 4 years of funding

Project description:

Atrial fibrillation (AF), the most prevalent cardiac arrhythmia, affects 9% for individuals over 65 years, and it is the leading cause of thromboembolic events, such as stroke and vascular dementia. 90% of thrombi responsible for thromboembolic events during AF originate in the left atrial appendage (LAA), a protrusion of the left atrium (LA).

The project aims at analyzing different morphologies of the LA+LAA district with computational and experimental methods to perform a systematic analysis of the sensitivity of each geometrical parameter (e.g. number/dimension of lobes and trabeculae, orifice shape/dimension) influencing the fluid-dynamics, and therefore thrombus formation.

The objectives are: 1) Creating a generalised parametric Computer Aided Design (CAD) model of the LA+LAA district. 2) Developing Fluid Structure Interaction (FSI) models, imposing physiological and pathological (i.e. AF) conditions, investigating the relations between LA+LAA shape and heamodynamics with the risk of thrombus formation. 3) Manufacturing physical models with optically transparent compliant polymers mimicking LA/LAA tissue distensibility, to perform experimental tests using dyes in a specifically adapted hydro-mechanical pulse duplicator system (ViVitro Systems Inc.) to validate the computational model. The final result will be a practical classification tool supporting clinicians in the stratification of patients at risk of thrombosis, easy to immediately translate into practice.

This project is highly interdisciplinary, involving engineering experimental and computational skills, in constant contact with cardiologists and clinical morphologists, exposing the PhD student to a multidisciplinary engineering approach to tackle a very timely clinical problem. The student will take advantage of a well set-up network of collaborations among different UCL Departments (Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Cardiovascular Science and Institute of Healthcare Engineering) and Clinical Institutions (The Barts Health NHS Trust – the largest Trust in the UK – and UCLH). Applicants should ideally have experience in: • FE/CFD/FSI modelling • Experimental testing • Matlab/Python/C++ programming • Machine learning

Link with info

https://ucl-epsrc-dtp.github.io/2023-24-project-catalogue/projects/2228bd1126.html

Link to apply

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/epsrc-doctoral-training/prospective-students/apply-ucl-epsrc-dtp-studentship#funding

The PhD position is embedded within the SNSF Sinergia project SLIHI4BONE (Nr. 213520, project start 01.04.2023) focusing on a newly-proposed mechanism explaining the formation of bone in soft tissue, also called heterotopic ossification (doi:10.1016/j.mattod.2018.10.036). According to this mechanism, tissue mineralization may provoke a sustained local ionic homeostatic imbalance (SLIHI), and this local decrease in extracellular calcium may modulate inflammation to trigger bone formation. The general project aim is to assess the validity of this mechanism and to use it for healing large bone defects.

For the advanced in vivo imaging work packages within SLIHI4BONE, we are looking for a motivated PhD candidate to join the Institute for Biomechanics at ETH Zurich. The successful candidate will closely interact with the Sinergia collaboration partners at RMS Foundation and ARI Davos. The PhD candidate will be enrolled in the PhD program of ETH Zurich. Tasks and activities will include:
• Development of advanced in vivo imaging protocols for HO and impaired bone healing using time-lapsed micro-computed tomography and multiphoton imaging
• Extension of internal Python-based computational framework for 4D image analysis and morphometric quantification
• Imaging and computational support for in vivo experiments

Further information about the Laboratory for Bone Biomechanics can be found on our website www.bone.ethz.ch. Questions regarding the position should be directed to Prof. Dr. Ralph Müller at ram@ethz.ch (no applications).

I am looking for motivated students to join my research group and work towards their PhD in the area of computational cardiovascular biomechanics. Interested candidates are encouraged to email ankush.aggarwal@glasgow.ac.uk to discuss further. More details of the PhD position are provided below.

Project Summary: Almost 30% of all deaths globally are related to cardiovascular diseases. The overall aim of computational cardiovascular biomechanics is to help improve the diagnosis of these diseases (faster, earlier, more precise), provide better surgical outcomes, and design devices that last longer. To achieve that aim, we study the biomechanical properties of tissues and cells comprising the cardiovascular system using a combination of in-vivo imaging, ex-vivo and in-vitro testing, and in-silico modeling. Several project topics are available, which can be categorized into model development (at organ and cellular scales) and method development (based on imaging and using data science approaches). A few examples of specific projects are:

1) Predicting aneurysm development from ultrasound images using growth and remodeling simulations
2) Modeling of endothelial cells based on in-vitro experiments
3) Uncertainty quantification of biomechanical properties based on combined ex-vivo and in-vivo dataset
4) Gaussian process modeling for cardiovascular tissue mechanics
5) Development of a digital twin of the thoracic aorta

During this project, the student will have opportunities to:

• Develop skills necessary to work at the interface of engineering and biomedical science
• Publish papers in high-quality journals
• Present research results at international conferences
• Learn about nonlinear finite element analysis, nonlinear mechanics, multiscale modeling, image-based analysis, data science, and other numerical techniques
• Learn about experimental and clinical validation
• Collaborate with our international academic and industrial partners
• Interact within the Glasgow Centre for Computational Engineering with other researchers (GCEC) and across departments with biomedical scientists and clinicians

Eligibility: Candidates must have an undergraduate degree in a relevant field, such as Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Mathematics and Computing Science, with a minimum 2.1 or equivalent final grade. A background in mechanics and knowledge of numerical methods (such as finite element analysis) would be necessary. Programming skills will be required for computational modeling.

Application: The deadline for applications is 31 January 2023, and the application process consists of two parts:
1) On-line academic application: Go to https://www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate/research/infrastructureenvironment/ and click on the ‘Apply now’ tab. Applicants should attach relevant documents such as CV, transcripts, references and a research proposal.
2) School of Engineering EPSRC/School Scholarship Application via online portal: https://www.gla.ac.uk/ScholarshipApp/]gla.ac.uk/ScholarshipApp/ To complete the scholarship application, students will need a supporting statement from the proposed supervisor. Any queries about application procedure can be directed to eng-jws@glasgow.ac.uk

Further information: If you are interested or want more information, please contact me at my email (ankush.aggarwal@glasgow.ac.uk) before starting the formal application. Please visit Computational Biomechanics Research Group page or my staff page for more information on our research.