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.

Worldwide the increase in the geriatric population with musculoskeletal problems and the increase in the incidence of sports injuries and traffic accidents are contributing to the growth of knee, hip, or spine surgeries. Current surgical treatments, generally placing implants, significantly improve the quality of life of patients. However, patients who have had surgery at a young age are very likely to need revision surgery due to implant failure, with the complications that this entails due to the poor condition of the tissue around the implant. To meet the challenging demands of orthopedic implants, complex porous structures that improve the biomimicry between the implant and the surrounding bone tissue are gaining special interest thanks to the development of Additive Manufacturing (AM).

Within this context, the Mechanics of Materials and Advanced Manufacturing research group in TECNUN- Engineering Faculty of University of Navarra (San Sebastian, Spain) has recently been awarded a research project to optimize the design of hip implants through additively manufactured porous structures. The successful PhD candidate’s activities include the design, manufacturing and in-vitro validation of such structures, with special focus on exploring the possibilities of metal additive manufacturing for biomedical applications.

We are currently accepting applications from enthusiastic and highly talented candidates who meet the following requirements:

–             A MSc degree in Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering or similar.

–             Experience in additive manufacturing and/or computational biomechanics is appreciated.

–             A research-oriented attitude.

–             Fluent in spoken and written English. Knowledge of Spanish will be appreciated.

Outstanding candidates are invited to submit a CV and a Motivation Letter to Dr Naiara Rodriguez-Florez (nrodriguezf@tecnun.es).