Research Project

O-Health is a Consolidator grant from the European Research Council, awarded by the European Commission under the HORIZON Action. It is led by Prof. Jérôme Noailly, from the BCN MedTech research unit of the Department of Information and Communication Technologies (DTIC), at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain.

Non-communicable diseases (NCD) that involve load-bearing organs emerge silently according to complex mechanisms that are likely to involve inter-disease systemic communications. Clinical explorations cannot apprehend such intricate emergence, O-Health postulates that multiscale in silico models can. Digital twin technologies for health have progressed a lot in the last decades, but multi-disease transversal modelling at the body scale is yet to be developed. It requires to couple small to large-scale model components with appropriate balance of phenomenological and mechanistic approaches, to cope with overwhelming biological complexity, preserve interpretability and incorporate real-world data. This is the niche of O-Health that proposes a scalable ecosystem of multiscale NCD models interrelated through a body-wide systemic model of low-grade inflammation. The project tackles such vertical and transversal physiology-based computational modelling through four major NCD, lung emphysema, atherosclerosis, intervertebral disc degeneration and knee osteoarthritis that affect load-bearing organs at different anatomical locations. Each NCD model will vertically share predicted variables with an interface model of endothelial cell dysfunction that communicates with a transversal model of body-wide systemic communications. The O-health ecosystem shall be modular and interoperable. Models and simulations will combine finite element models at the organ /tissue scales and systems biology models at lower scales, with machine learning models for the incorporation of real-world data out of population cohorts. Interoperability shall be ensured through declarative standard languages such as Field and Systems Biology Mark-up Languages.

Description of the position

The successful Candidate will be a senior postdoctoral researcher, with proven experience in data science and machine learning. He/She will be based at DTIC, UPF and will be responsible for the management and mining of health data collected for the O-Health project, out of existing patient and population cohorts. Scientific and technical competencies are necessary in interpretable machine learning, nonlinear unsupervised learning, as well as in federated and transfer learning. Advanced programming skills and experience in handling health and/or biomedical data are required. Knowledge of data management plans will be valued. The Researcher will become progressively responsible for the data science operations of the BMMB, to properly mine real-world health data and couple the latter to the physics- and biology-based models, developed by the other researchers of the group for interpretable predictive modelling. While a high level of independence is expected, (s)he shall report periodically to PI, to ensure (i) that the timelines of the project and deliverables are met, and (ii) that the project results can be properly disseminated through scientific and medical congresses and journals. As such, communication, teamwork, and leadership skills will be chiefly important.

More information:

Project
BONE STRENGTH is a public-private collaboration project funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN) and Agency of Research (AEI) that focusses on the prediction of fragile bone fractures in osteoporosis, out of routine clinical explorations. The collaboration will take place between the technology-based company 3D Shaper Medical SL, and the Barcelona Centre for New Medical Technologies (BCN MedTech) of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF). Both 3D Shaper Medical SL and UPF are in Barcelona, Spain.

Osteoporosis is a disease associated with the occurrence of fragile fractures in the elderly population, resulting in a huge burden on the society and the healthcare system. The current clinical gold standard for fracture risk assessment is based on areal bone mineral density (aBMD) measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan. However, it fails to identify up to 50% of the patients eligible for bone-specific pharmacological treatments, resulting in fractures that could be prevented. Bone strength, estimated using quantitative computed tomography (QCT)-based finite element analyses (FEA), has been shown to improve osteoporosis diagnosis and management. However, increased exposure of patients to X-ray radiations is a limitation in clinical practice. 3D-Shaper Medical SL has developed a software (3D-Shaper®) validated for predicting volumetric density and geometrical parameters of the proximal femur and lumbar vertebrae from planar DXA. It can provide clinicians with QCT equivalent parameters without performing a CT scan. 

BONE STRENTH aims to develop a FEA module for 3D-Shaper® that will enable QCT-equivalent bone strength estimations from DXA scans. Through its Biomechanics and Mechanobiology Research Area (BMMB), BCN MedTech has a large experience in computational biomechanics and will develop the Finite Element methods that will be integrated into 3D-Shaper®. Bone strength calculations will be validated against experimentally measured values, and patient-specifically, against QCT-based FE predictions. Performance of the fracture risk assessment will be investigated using case-control clinical cohorts. Furthermore, the 3D-Shaper® FEA module will be used to evaluate the effect of pharmacological treatments, enabling clinical trials with a reduced economic cost and without performing CT scans.

Description of Work

BONE STRENGTH has two Principal investigators (PI). The PI at 3D Shaper Medical SL and coordinator of the project is Ludovic Humbert, Co-founder and CEO of 3D Shaper SL and expert in medical image processing and modelling in biomechanics. The PI at UPF is Jérôme Noailly, head of the BMMB at BCN MedTech, co-director of the SIMBIOSys group at the UPF Department of Information and Communication Technologies (DTIC), and expert in modelling and simulations in biomechanics and (systems) biology. 

The successful Candidate will be a junior postdoctoral researcher, with proven experience in data science and computer simulations in biomedical engineering. He/She will be based at DTIC, UPF and will be responsible for osteoporosis patient stratification based on both clinical and biomechanical information, and for the development of a meta (surrogate) biomechanical model of the femur and the vertebra, to estimate bone strength at reduced computational cost, in collaboration with 3D Shaper Medical SL. Scientific and technical competencies are necessary in modelling and machine learning in biomechanics. Previous experience in physics-based computer simulations and bone biomechanics are welcome. The Researcher will collaborate with a small team of researchers dedicated to the same project and will report periodically to the respective PI of UPF and 3D Shaper Medical SL, to ensure (i) that the timelines of the project and deliverables are met, and (ii) that the project results can be properly disseminated through scientific and medical congresses and journals. Hence, communication, teamwork and leadership skills will be chiefly important.

At UPF, the successful Candidate will evolve in the highly international environment of DTIC. There, he/she will be able to interact directly with the 60+ investigators of BCN MedTech who gather expertise in medical image analysis and processing, machine learning and data science, complexity analysis, medical devices, and computational biomechanics and biology. Daily working interactions related to the project shall mostly happen with the teams of both the BMMB and the SIMBIOSys group. While day to day working language will be English, Spanish language fosters social interactions and (the learning thereof) is highly recommended.

Contract

The employment for BONE STRENGTH shall be for a period of up to 1,5 years. The successful candidate will be offered a full-time postdoctoral research contract for the implementation of BONE STRENGTH. The number of working hours is 37,5 h per week and 1640 h per year. The gross salary is 33.715,68 € per year. On top of this, social benefits (health, unemployment, retirement) are covered by the employer (UPF).

Requirements

Candidates must:

• Hold a BSc and a MSc in either Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Physics, or any related field
• Have a PhD title, with a doctoral thesis focussed on Machine learning in biomedical engineering
• Be able to demonstrate a proficient level of English, both written and spoken. Language certificate is not mandatory but proper English level will have to be demonstrated during the interview (see selection criteria)

Selection

1st phase: remote pre-selection (0-100 points): 

• The Scientific, Technological & Academic excellence will be considered, based on:
• A full CV that shall include, among others (0-70 points):
  – A description of the current or, in case of unemployment, of the more recent position
  Education and professional tracks
  – Research experience supported by evidence such as: scientific publications; patents; participation in scientific congresses; participation in research projects including any leadership information; …
  – International research collaborations
  – International mobility experience (research stays longer than three weeks)
  – Scientific mentoring activities: (co-)supervision of PhD, MSc and/or BSc theses; participation in scientific courses, workshops, summer or winter schools as instructor; … 
  – Roles in academia and/or in scientific societies 
  – Activities in science communication & outreach: press releases; online videos; participations to events for non-expert public; …
  – Recognitions and merits: individual competitive grants; awards, invited talks, …
  – A narrative biosketch with a section of the five major achievements of the CV   
• Two reference letters provided by international scholars (0-15 points)
• Statement of purpose: past research experience; motivation to apply to this position; academic fit; contribution of the project to future careers plans; … (0-15 points)

To pass to the 2nd phase (see below), the Candidate must have scored at least 75/100 during the remote review.

IMPORTANT: the publication records will be double checked through online databases (Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, ResearchGate, ORCID, …). The Candidate is encouraged to provide the link of his/her choice in the CV. Failure to access to any online database of the scientific production of the researcher will justify the exclusion of Applicant from the selection process.

2nd phase: interview(s) (0-100):

Should the Applicant be preselected during the 1st phase, (s)he will be informed by email, for a 2nd phase of selection. The 2nd phase will consist in at least one interview through which:

• the English language (eliminatory if deemed insufficient),
• the motivation (0-15 points), 
• the proactive behaviour (0-15 points), 
• the capacity to work collaboratively (0-15 points), 
• the organizational skills (0-15 points), 
• the communication skills (0-15 points), and
• the capacity to engage in a scientific discussion and manage problems (0-15 points), 

 will be assessed, among other aspects (0-10 points will be reserved for the general impression).

The interview must lead to a score of at least 75/100, so that the Candidate can be considered for the final decision.

Final decision 

The final decision will be the result of a consensus made by the Recruitment Committee that will consider the results of both selection phases 1 and 2. The Applicant will be informed of the selection outcome by email.

IMPORTANT: The referees might be contacted by the Recruitment Committee, to reach the final decision.

Application

https://apply.interfolio.com/123571

The Insigneo Institute is looking to appoint a Post-doctoral Research Associate in Computational Spine Biomechanics to work on the recently awarded Horizon Europe Project, METASTRA – Computer-aided effective stratification of oncologic patients with vertebral metastases for personalized treatment through robust and validated numerical tools. The project strives to provide a combination of models biomechanically validated and demonstrated in relevant clinical environments that will be incorporated in a clinical decision support system.

Working with Professor Damien Lacroix and Dr. Enrico Dall’Ara you will work to advance the modelling of patients with vertebral metastases for the prevention of fractures to reliably stratify patients based on their fracture risk.

We are seeking candidates with an excellent PhD in biomechanics (or a related discipline). A solid knowledge of finite element modelling, expertise in using finite element software with high level of sophistication (e.g. use of user-subroutines in Abaqus, Ansys) and experience of working as a team member to collaborate, co-operate and participate with others to achieve common objectives and to share experience and ideas is essential.

Deadline for applications: 26th April 2023 

To apply please visit this webpage:

https://jobs.shef.ac.uk/sap/bc/webdynpro/sap/hrrcf_a_unreg_job_search?sap-client=400&sap-syscmd=nocookie&sap-wd-configId=ZHRRCF_A_UNREG_JOB_SEARCH&sap-ie=edge&utm_source=university%20website&utm_medium=link&utm_content=jobs&utm_campaign=jobs-link#

Use as keyword: Metastra

And click on Apply!

More information:

Interested in diving into the fascinating world of microstructural imaging of blood vessels and linking this to tissue biomechanics? There is an open position for a post-doctoral researcher in the Biomechanics Group at Erasmus MC / TU Delft.

Application links and more info: https://www.werkenbijerasmusmc.nl/en/vacancy/88161/postdoctoral-researcher-polarization-sensitive-optical-coherence-tomography-ps-oct

We are offering three postdoctoral positions in the area of Biomechanics & Mechanobiology at BCN MedTech, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, University Pompeu Fabra, Spain, to work in computational biomechanics applied to fragile bone fracture prediction in clinical cohorts:

• Data science & surrogate modelling (1.5 years, full time): Junior postdoctoral researcher with expertise in machine learning applied to biomedical engineering: https://apply.interfolio.com/121396 – Deadline March 7th 2023

• Open-source finite element code development & implementation (2 years, full time): Postdoctoral researcher with expertise in open-source finite element software and computational continuum mechanics: https://apply.interfolio.com/121326 – Deadline March7th, 2023

• Patient-Specific finite element modelling and computational bone biomechanics (Junior leader, 2.5 years, full time): Senior postdoctoral researcher with at least two years of postdoctoral research experience in bone finite element analysis: https://apply.interfolio.com/121397 – Deadline: March 7^th, 2023

Newton International Fellowships are prestigious postdoctoral fellowships for researchers who want to work in the UK. The scheme is accepting applications now with a deadline of 28th March 2023. The fellowship provides three years of research funding, and only those with a PhD from outside of the UK are eligible. More details and eligibility criteria are available at https://royalsociety.org/grants-schemes-awards/grants/newton-international/

Do you have background in computational tissue biomechanics? Are you interested in cardiovascular systems and the above scheme? If so, check our Computational Biomechanics Research Group page or my staff page for more information on our research. We would be happy to host excellent researchers with relevant background and interests. Email me at ankush.aggarwal@glasgow.ac.uk if you would like to discuss this fellowship opportunity.

POST DOC IN MUSCULOSKELETAL BIOMECHANIK (PROF. PAHR) 40 HOURS (F/M/D) -2 YEARS POSITION

The Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences (KL) is part of an academic and research community located at the Campus Krems, and includes a network of comprising teaching hospitals in St. Pölten, Krems and Tulln. The university offers degree programs in Human Medicine and Psychology and are tailored to the requirements of the Bologna model, opening the door to new, cutting-edge health professions. KL is committed to raising its profile in specific areas of biomedicine, biomedical engineering, and biopsychosocial sciences by entering into strategic academic and research partnerships with other institutions.

YOUR TASKS

• Independent experimental research
• activities in the field of musculoskeletal biomechanics
• Publication activities and writing of applications for external funding Teaching and support in administrative tasks
• Supervision of Bachelor, Master and
• PhD students Administration and 1aintenance of the laboratory infrastructure
• Support of the laboratory head

YOUR PROFILE

• Completion of a suitable doctorate (e.g. mechanical engineering, physics, biomedical engineering, …)
• In-depth knowledge in biomechanical testing (material and/or implant testing incl. programming of measurement data analysis)
• Appropriate track record of publications in scientific journals as well as conference contributions.
• Experience with clinic-related research and imaging techniques (CT or MRI) would be an advantage
• Good German (or willingness to learn German in the short term) and very good English skills, both written and spoken Process-oriented, accurate, structured way of working with a strong ability to prioritize
• Open, resilient and flexible personality with a professional attitude

YOUR PERSPECTIVE 

You can expect a challenging job in an internationally visible and highly motivated team -we offer flexible working hours, home office options, a paid lunch break, health care and many other benefits . The Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences is dedicated to achieving a balanced mix of male and female academic and non-academic staff. Consequently, applications from female candidates are particularly encouraged. People with disabilities who meet the required qualification criteria are expressly invited to apply and are given special consideration. The minimum classification is € 3,700 (40 hrs) gross per month. Readiness for overpayment exists with appropriate experience and qualification. Fixed-term contract for 2 years, possibility of extension (path to permanency / tenure) in case of appropriate performance.

APPLICATION

Applications should include a motivation letter, curriculum vitae and credentials and should be mailed by 22 nd of Feburary 2023 referring jobnumber “2301” to Ms. Christina Schwaiger to bewerbung@kl.ac.at

The specific goal of this post-doctoral research position is the further development, deployment, and clinical application of clinical digital twins for risk-based stratification of patients affected by musculoskeletal dysmetabolism (osteopenia and sarcopenia). This is the context of Heal Italia projects, a national research project funded by the NextGenerationEU Recovery Plan. The project aims to apply precision medicine approaches by developing risk-based stratification algorithms and providing scientific open-access evidence to health policymakers.

The post-doc is expected to translate existing digital twin technologies developed in other projects into use in specific clinical studies on osteopenia and sarcopenia. This will require some adaptations to the modelling technology, their deployment to appropriate infrastructures, and their use to conduct specific clinical studies where the models’ predictions are used for risk-based stratification.

The ideal candidate would have these qualifications:

• Good written and spoken English.
• Documented experience in patient-specific biomechanical or mechanobiological modelling.
• Experience with finite element analysis and/or multi-body dynamics in biomechanics.
• PhD in Engineering, Physics, Movement Science, or Computer Science, not strictly required though.

Eligibility:

The selected post-doc will mainly work on:

• Develop further computational biomechanics patient-specific models.
• Deploy them on dedicated infrastructures that enable their use in clinical studies.
• Run clinical studies based on these Clinical Digital Twins.

The candidate will have the opportunity to work in a multidisciplinary team coordinated by Prof. Marco Viceconti, and in collaboration with a large national consortium.

Application: 

More info and how to apply here: 

https://bandi.unibo.it/ricerca/assegni-ricerca?id_bando=66174

The deadline for applications is 06 February 2023.

The research will be conducted both at the University of Bologna and at the Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute in Bologna.

Further information:

If you are interested or want more information, please contact Alessandra Aldieri: alessandra.aldieri@polito.it

The postdoctoral 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 multiphoton intravital imaging work package within SLIHI4BONE, we are looking for a motivated Postdoc 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:
• Development of intravital imaging protocols for HO and impaired bone healing using time-lapsed micro-computed tomography and multiphoton microscopy
• Extension of intravital imaging technology to include ratiometric imaging for the quantification of bone marrow interstitial pH and calcium concentrations
• Imaging 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).