Short Description
– Are you eager to develop innovative regenerative fusion technologies to treat back pain?
– Are you inspired to push the boundaries on engineering biomaterials to address medicine’s future needs?

Job Description
Back pain is among the top ten diseases causing the greatest burden on society in terms of years lived with disability. It is estimated that 30 to 40% of these cases are attributed to intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration. Currently, there are no satisfactory treatments for IVD degeneration. If analgesics and physical therapy fail to control the pain, operative treatment can be considered in some cases, where the involved spinal segments are fused using metal/polymer cages. Such spinal fusion operations are very effective in relieving patients’ pain, but they are not always successful, sometimes leading to delayed fusions or non-unions. Our goal is to develop an innovative solution for spinal fusion using a 3D printed bioresorbable ceramic-based cage that is osteoinductive, load-bearing, and can counteract local inflammation. The newly created implant will be tested in vitro and in an in vivo animal model to move one step closer towards translation to human clinical applications. Your aim will be to design, fabricate, and characterize a subject-specific cage implant that promotes spinal fusion through mechanical stimulation while providing adequate mechanical strength until complete vertebrae fusion. To do this, you will focus on modeling the mechanobiology of the native tissue using integrated computational and experimental methods and translate those findings into innovative regenerative designs and material implants that promote fast and complete spinal fusion. You will contribute to a large Dutch-Brazilian research program – BioFusion – to research engineered biomaterials for spinal fusion (more details here). You will closely collaborate and spend some time at our partner organizations at KU Leuven (Belgium) and UNESP – Universidade Estadual Paulista, School of Engineering (Brazil).

About the group
You will be enrolled at Eindhoven University of Technology within the Biomaterials Design and Processing and Orthopedics groups. Our mission is to develop novel treatment strategies for an aging and active population. We combine advanced biomaterials and manufacturing methods, such as Additive Manufacturing and Bioprinting, with in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo platforms, as well as engineering methods like high-resolution imaging and computational modeling. Our goal is to enhance understanding of musculoskeletal tissues and create regenerative treatments. We are part of the Regenerative Materials and Engineering cluster in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. The department offers Bachelor’s and Master’s programs linked to research areas such as Chemical Biology, Biomaterials, and Biomechanics, with over 800 students and 200 academic staff. Our inclusive, collaborative campus fosters connections and excellence in research and education.

Job Requirements
We are accepting applications from enthusiastic and highly talented candidates who meet the
following requirements:
– A master’s degree (Second Cycle qualification) in Biomedical engineering, Mechanical engineering, Material Science and engineering, or related discipline.
– A solid background in continuum mechanics and biomechanics.
– A strong interest in computational mechanics, mechanobiology and multi-scale material modelling.
– Experience with bone engineering, inorganic biomaterials and Additive Manufacturing is preferred
– Excellent programming (e.g. Python, Matlab) and data analysis skills.
– Strong motivation to do excellent, original, fundamental research.
– Team player and able to work in a dynamic, interdisciplinary, and international context
– Excellent written and oral communication skills. Note that there is no Dutch language requirement.
– Motivated to develop your teaching skills and coach students.

Conditions of Employment
We offer a meaningful job in a dynamic, stimulating and ambitious team environment.
– A full-time employment contract for four years, with an intermediate performance review after nine months.
– A gross monthly salary and benefits that align with the Collective Labor Agreement for Dutch Universities.
– Additionally, an annual holiday allowance equal to 8% of your yearly salary, and a year-end allowance of 8.3% of your annual salary.
– A broad package of fringe benefits, including access to an excellent technical infrastructure, assistance with moving expenses, and participation in savings schemes.
– Family-friendly initiatives, such as an international spouse program, on-campus children daycare, and sports facilities.
– Cutting-edge research focused on bone fractures and will receive innovative multidisciplinary and multisectoral training from experienced supervisors in both clinical and academic fields.
– Be part of an international team of biomaterials and spine research experts and a large network of PhD students.
– Secondments at KU Leuven (Belgium) and UNESP – Universidade Estadual Paulista, School of Engineering (Brazil)
– A structured training program, which includes a combination of soft skill courses, targeted workshops, social events, and networking opportunities.

Information and application
Do you recognize yourself in this profile and would you like to know more? We invite you to submit a complete application directly to dr. Miguel Castilho (m.dias.castilho@tue.nl). The application should include a:
– Cover letter in which you describe your motivation and qualifications for the position.
– Curriculum vitae, including a list of your publications and the contact information of three referees.
– Copies of degree and academic transcripts (with grades and rankings), for both the Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. Academic records not written in English should be accompanied by a translation into English (it can be either an official translation or self-translation). If the candidate has not been awarded the qualifying degree yet, he/she should provide a document proving the expected date of award.

• October, 2024
• Apply here

1. Overview of the research programme:

InSilicoHealth is an innovative Doctoral Network (DN) with the ambition to train a new generation of outstanding Doctoral Candidates (DC) that will become effective translators of the rapidly evolving digital technology to tackle existing and future challenges related with healthy ageing in Europe. The research focus of this DN lies in three key domains: the brain, heart, and musculoskeletal (MSK) systems. In the realm of digital technology, InSilicoHealth specifically focuses on virtual human twin (VHT) technology to enhance our understanding of the age-related adaptive changes of the complex human body through predictive multi-scale simulations. The research methodology employs knowledge-driven models enhanced by advanced data-driven inference techniques to optimize the health potential of older individuals.

2. Individual PhD Project Information:

Host institution: Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), Spain

Supervisory team: Prof. Jerome Noailly (PhD supervisor, UPF), Prof. Ilse Jonkers (PhD co-supervisor, KU Leuven), Prof. Miguel Ángel González Ballester (PhD co-supervisor, UPF), Dr Ludovic Humbert (secondment host, 3D-Shaper).

Enrolment in Doctoral School: Enrolled in the Information and Communication Technologies (UPF) and at the Doctoral School of Biomedical Sciences (KU Leuven).

3. PhD project description:

This PhD project will focus on coupling biological regulatory network and organ finite element models to define risk factors of different rates or organ ageing in personalised models related with patient (osteoarthritis, low back pain) and population cohorts, with which UPF works. The objectives are: 1) Couple pre-existing models at UPF: chondrocyte and intervertebral disc mechano-sensitive cell regulatory networks models with finite element models of the knee joint and the intervertebral disc; 2) Personalise the shapes of the organ models by combining magnetic resonance image segmentation and mesh morphing; 3) Personalise the regulatory network initial states, based on patient BMI, age and other factors known to control low grade inflammation mediators mapped in the networks; 4) Run simulations and mine together input data for model personalization and simulated data related with network node activations that reflect nociceptive pain, pro-inflammatory cytokine activity, balance between matrix proteases and inhibitors thereof, structural proteins; 5) Define a pipeline for model assessment, based on uncertainty and consistency analyses, falsification tests against clinical cases, capacity for discrimination in clinical case-control: 6) Assess risk factors and build corresponding surrogate models.

A successful project will result in a robust pipeline for multiscale modelling that allows mechanistic explorations of pathophysiological mechanisms and risk factor predictions for age-related joint degeneration, based on interpretable biological mechanisms.

4. Planned secondments:

• KU Leuven (December year 2, 6 months): Aims to personalise the mechanical boundary conditions to be imposed on the knee joint and intervertebral disc models, based on the movement signatures investigated by DC7, and on the translation thereof into mechanical loads to be applied on the joints, through existing collections of motion capture and MSK analyses at KU Leuven (knee joint), and through existing measurements of in vivo intervertebral disc pressure under daily activities (intervertebral disc).
• 3D-Shaper Medical (May year 1, 4 months): Early secondment at 3D-Shaper Medical aims to explore robust pipelines for personalised modelling of knee joints, through machine-learning based image processing allowing advanced annotations and fast 3D modelling, out of X-rays and MRI.

5. Essential requirements:

• You hold both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering, Biomedicine, Computer Science, Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering.
• Specialization in computational methods in biomedical engineering or biomedicine will be highly beneficial.
• You have a keen interest in the fields of in silico medicine, digital health, and rheumatology.
• You have proven your proficiency in English language equivalent to B2 level (Sufficient English level will be verified during the interview, if any).
• You did not reside or carry out your main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the host institution’s country for more than 12 months in the three years before 1st of January 2025.
• You are ambitious, well organized, a team player, and have excellent communication skills.
• You can work independently and have a critical and analytical mindset.
• You are a pro-active and motivated person, eager to participate in network-wide training events, international mobility, and public dissemination activities.
• Previous experience in finite element modelling, and/or medical image processing, and/or data science, and/or motion capture and analyses, are not required but considered a plus.

6. Application requirements:

• Curriculum vitae.
• Motivation Letter, including a clear indication of the preferred DC position(s) within InSilicoHealth Doctoral Network if the applicant postulates for multiple positions.
• Academic records (grades) of both the Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees.
• Two recommendation letters by two previous scientific supervisors (these people might be contacted by the Evaluation Committee of the position, if needed).