The 25th Congress of ESB will take place in Vienna, Austria from 7 – 10 July 2019.
ESB 2019 is jointly organized by Philipp THURNER (TU Wien), Dieter PAHR (TU Wien & KL Krems), and Christian HELLMICH (TU Wien). The congress itself will take place at the University of Vienna which is located in the centre of the city.
Prospective authors are encouraged to submit their latest research for capturing and discussing the science at the forefront of biomechanics in a mix of oral and poster presentations.
Abstracts have to be submitted online through the congress website by January 31, 2019. Further information is available here.
Further detailed information as well as information on sponsoring and exhibition can be found here.
We are looking forward to receiving your contributions and to welcoming you at ESB2019 in Vienna!
MULTI-SCALE ANALYSIS OF MUSCULOSKELETAL AND CARTILAGE LOADING DURING LOCOMOTION. MULTI-SCALE ANALYSIS OF MUSCULOSKELETAL AND CARTILAGE LOADING DURING LOCOMOTION. PHD VACANCY MULTI-SCALE ANALYSIS OF MUSCULOSKELETAL AND CARTILAGE LOADING DURING LOCOMOTION.
In the human movement biomechanics research group, we study the mechanical loading in different musculoskeletal tissues during normal and pathological movement and relate them to tissue adaptation. The role of mechanical loading in cartilage degeneration and osteoarthritis (OA) development is currently one of the central themes in our research.Website unit
Responsibilities
We use multi-scale models of the musculoskeletal system informed by in vitro bioreactor experiments, together with motion data collected using 3D Mocap and inertial measurement (IMU-) systems. These model-based insights will ultimately be used to define surgical or therapeutic strategies to optimize musculoskeletal loading and prevent degeneration. This research line runs in close collaboration with different groups in KU Leuven, more specific the research group on Tissue Homeostasis and Disease (Prof. Rik Lories), the Institute for Orthopedic Research and Training (Prof. Lennart Scheys) and the Biomechanics Research Unit of the mechanical engineering department (Prof. Jos Vander Sloten and Prof. Nele Famaey).
Profile for PostDoc
This position is open to interested postdoctoral fellows with an interest in relating human movement to musculoskeletal and cartilage loading and eventually tissue adaptation.
The candidate must hold a master degree in biomedical/mechanical engineering or human movement sciences in which multi-scale modelling, musculoskeletal modelling, rigid body simulations or finite element analysis were used.
You will develop and test a multiscale modelling approach based on in vivo and in vitro experiments.
You quantify the mechanical loading and relate this to the biological response of the cartilage in terms of homeostasis, degeneration or regeneration.
You will assist in further developing these research lines and writing of research proposals in this area.
You will supervise master student projects in these research areas.
You will contribute to teaching classes in the human movement sciences, physical therapy and biomedical engineering program depending on the candidate’s profile.
You will provide administrative and technical support of activities within the research group, department or faculty.
Candidates planning their PhD thesis defense in summer 2019 are encouraged to apply as well.
he candidates will be asked to demonstrate his expertise using dedicated software tools (e.g. Opensim, FEbios, Abaqus, Anybody) at the time of the interview.
Previous experience with in vivo and in vitro measurements is of additional value.
The candidate should be highly interested in working in a multi-disciplinary environment consisting of engineers, physical therapists and medical doctors.
Offer
Financing:available for 1 year
Type of Position: Fellowship
Timing:Applications should be received by July 1, 2019. Interviews are planned during second half of July 2019. Starting date is negotiable, but preferentially September 2019.
Duration of the Project: The position will be assigned initially for 1 year. The candidate will be supported to apply for personal funding.
Interested?
For more information please contact Prof. dr. Ilse Jonkers, tel.: +32 16 32 91 05, mail: ilse.jonkers@kuleuven.be or Prof. dr. Lennart Scheys, tel.: +3216340885, mail: lennart.scheys@kuleuven.be.You can apply for this job no later than July 01, 2019 via the online application toolKU Leuven seeks to foster an environment where all talents can flourish, regardless of gender, age, cultural background, nationality or impairments. If you have any questions relating to accessibility or support, please contact us at diversiteit.HR@kuleuven.be.
This position is open to interested PhD candidates with an interest in relating human movement to musculoskeletal and cartilage loading and eventually tissue adaptation.
The candidate must hold a master degree in biomedical/mechanical engineering or human movement sciences in which multi-scale modelling, musculoskeletal modelling, rigid body simulations or finite element analysis were used.
You will develop and test a multiscale modelling approach based on in vivo and in vitro experiments.
You quantify the mechanical loading and relate this to the biological response of the cartilage in terms of homeostasis, degeneration or regeneration.
You will assist in further developing these research lines and writing of research proposals in this area.
You will supervise master student projects in these research areas.
You will contribute to teaching classes in the human movement sciences, physical therapy and biomedical engineering program depending on the candidate’s profile.
You will provide administrative and technical support of activities within the research group, department or faculty.
Candidates planning their master thesis defense in summer 2019 are encouraged to apply as well.
he candidates will be asked to demonstrate his expertise using dedicated software tools (e.g. Opensim, FEbios, Abaqus, Anybody) at the time of the interview.
Previous experience with in vivo and in vitro measurements is of additional value.
The candidate should be highly interested in working in a multi-disciplinary environment consisting of engineers, physical therapists and medical doctors.
Offer
Financing:available for 1 year
Type of Position: Fellowship
Timing:Applications should be received by July 1, 2019. Interviews are planned during second half of July 2019. Starting date is negotiable, but preferentiallySeptember 2019.
Duration of the Project: The position will be assigned initially for 1 year. The candidate will be supported to apply for personal funding.
Interested?
For more information please contact Prof. dr. Ilse Jonkers, tel.: +32 16 32 91 05, mail: ilse.jonkers@kuleuven.beYou can apply for this job no later than July 01, 2019 via the online application toolKU Leuven seeks to foster an environment where all talents can flourish, regardless of gender, age, cultural background, nationality or impairments. If you have any questions relating to accessibility or support, please contact us at diversiteit.HR@kuleuven.be.
The ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research University of Bern, Switzerland, seeks PhD Student in Computational Mechanics for a period of four years starting in the summer 2019
The outstanding candidate will be integrated in a research group in biomechanics combining experimental and computational methods to test original scientific hypotheses and develop new diagnostic methods or medical devices. She/he will work on an international research project jointly funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Indian Department of Biotechnology.
This project is initiated in collaboration with the Narayana Nethralaya Eye Hospital in Bangalore and aims at developing personalized model of refractive interventions based on biomechanical simulations. The global number of people with myopic refractive error is expected to reach 5 billion by 2050. Therefore, delivering an effective correction is of immense clinical need today, as well as in the future. The candidate will develop numerical models accounting for the anatomical and mechanical properties of the cornea derived from high-resolution in-vivo imaging.
The candidate must hold a Master’s Degree in mechanics, computer science, biomedical engineering, physics or other related field. Experience with the following is required:
• A solid background in mechanics and computational methods
• Practice in finite element analysis
• Broad programming skills
• Project-related experience in biomechanics
• Strong writing skills in English are indispensable
The University of Bern aims at increasing the proportion of women in its scientific personnel and explicitly encourages qualified women to apply for this position. The salaries correspond to the ones published by the Swiss National Science Foundation (www.snf.ch) and the academic track is managed by the Graduate School in Cellular and Biomedical Sciences of the University of Bern (www.gcb.unibe.ch).
Interested candidates should send their resumes with references and school transcripts to:
This year we had a high number (21) of excellent applications for this award.
The winner of the Best Doctoral Award 2019 is Tommaso Ristori (TU Eindhofen, Netherlands) with the thesis entitled “Computational analysis of cell-mediated remodeling of collagenous tissues”.
There are also two runner-ups (no specific order): Marta Pena Fernandez and Maarten Afschrift. Marta Peña Fernandez (Portsmouth, UK): “X-ray biomechanical imaging and digital volume correlation of bone: From regeneration to structure” and Maarten Afschrift (KU Leuven, Belgium): “Identifying the limitations in balance control of elderly using predictive simulations of human posture and gait”.
The paper for the “ESB Clinical Biomechanics Award 2018” titled “Muscle atrophy-related increased joint loading after total hip arthroplasty and their postoperative change from 3 to 50months” is available online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2019.04.008 Congratulations to Dr Damm and the entire author team!
Doctorate in Health and Technology, University of
Bologna, Italy
Positions open to start November 2019
GENERAL INFORMATION
About this doctorate program
This PhD program has a duration of 3 years. The Doctorate in Health and Technology is an
interdisciplinary program, where each PhD student has a supervisor from the
technical area (engineering, chemistry etc) and one from the clinical or
biological area.
The objective of the interdepartmental Doctoral Programme in Health
Sciences and Technologies is to train the next generation of leaders in
industrial, clinical, and academic research.
Our goal is to develop an organic research programme at the interface
between engineering and medicine, which is inspired by the quantitative and
integrative approach of physical sciences, and by the latest development in
biomedical research, drive the development and clinical translation of
disruptive health technologies.
The doctoral training programme will prepare students in conducting
research which:
Extend the comprehension of how human physiology and
pathology work in term of physical and chemical mechanisms, and how these
mechanisms respond when perturbed by external factors such as therapies,
changes in life style, and environmental factors.
Develop new technologies that by leveraging on this
mechanistic understanding pursue a wide spectrum of applications relevant to
human health, including prevention, diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, and
rehabilitation.
How to apply:
Formal application must be submitted through the UniBo portal:
Each student, depending on their degree, will be able to apply only for
a sub-set of projects among those advertised for this PhD program; among them
each student will be allowed to select three projects, and name them in order
of preference; however, in some cases it might not be possible to satisfy all
requests, and some students might be offered a research project different from
those they selected.
We are looking for a highly motivated young researchers with a Master
degree (or equivalent) in Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering,
Physics, Material Science, or related disciplines, willing to study and do
research at the leading edge of biomechanical engineering, in close contact
with a clinical environment.
Individuals expecting to obtain their Master degree
before 31 October 2019 can conditionally apply.
In order to be admitted to the selection, a student needs a five-year
higher education degree, which includes at least one module for each of the following
disciplines: mathematics, physics, computer science, biology, physiology, and
anatomy.
Candidates must be fluent in English as it will be the language used to
interact with supervisors and colleagues during the project, and to interact
with partners. Although some
understanding of Italian may be useful for daily living, this is not a
mandatory requirement. Communication and
teamworking skills are required in our international team.
Deadline:
Applications must be submitted through the Unibo portal by 15 May 2019, 13:00
Italian time (UTC +1)
Electrospun scaffolds for the regeneration of tendons
and ligaments
Summary
Degenerative or traumatic lesions of tendons and ligaments are difficult
to repair. Post-operative failures
affect between 15% and 40% of cases (depending on initial indications). We developed a prototype of an electrospun
scaffold replicating the hierarchical morphology and the mechanical properties
of tendons and ligaments. This PhD
project will further develop the prototype by increasing the bioactivity and
enhance the integration of the constituent material with the surrounding
tissues, and will bring this technical solution towards clinical application.
The following aspects will be investigated: optimization of the
polymeric biomaterial and its functionalization to improve cell adhesion,
recruiting and differentiation and to prevent inflammatory response, optimal
technique for effective sterilization; means of surgical attachment to the host tissue.
The collaboration between the
technical area (engineering and chemistry) with the clinical counterpart
(orthopaedic surgery) will be a key point of this project.
Objectives of this
project
The overall objective of this PhD project to bring a promising electrospun scaffold
for the repair of tendons and ligaments from the current state of technical
development (between TRL3 and 4) towards clinical application. The following specific objectives will be
tackled:
Optimization of
the sterilization technique to ensure effective sterilization of the
nanofibrous structure and preservation of the desired mechanical properties and
biocompatibility properties
Optimization of
the surgical technique to attach the scaffold to the host bone, and/or the
residual tendon/ligament, in collaboration with the orthopaedic surgeons to
ensure adequate mechanical strength and lack of stress concentrations and
surgical practicability
Increasing
scaffold bioactivity and integration in the surrounding tissues to prevent
adverse response of host tissue and avoid inflammatory reactions.
This project covers some basic science (interaction between nanofibrous
scaffold and host tissue), it focuses on technological development
(implementing and testing different solutions on the scaffold) and has clinical
relevance (develop the best solution for implantation).
Rationale and scientific background
The fact that different orthopaedic surgeons chose different strategies
for the repair of damaged tendons and ligaments is an indicator that there is
no consolidated and satisfactory technique.
In fact, the post-operative outcome is far from satisfactory. Surgical treatments fail in 15% and 40% of
cases (depending on the initial indications).
Artificial implants fail mostly because of biomechanical mismatch
(inadequate stiffness, limited strength etc).
Xenografts often do not get properly integrated or even create
rejection. Allografts offer better
similarity, but are limited due to cost and availability. Autografts solve some of the problems above,
but are associated with morbidity of the donor site and are limited in stock.
Bioresorbable scaffolds are a very promising option, as they are not
limited in availability [1]. We recently
developed a technique to manufacture electrospun scaffolds that replicate the
morphology and the mechanical properties of the human natural tendons and
ligaments [2,3].
To bring this project towards an animal trial and a future clinical
application, there are some clear points that need to be fine-tuned. Specifically, as the key to success of such
devices is integration with the host tissues, this project aims to understand
how to prevent such common clinical complications, and to develop the
extremities and the interfaces so as to grant success in case of implantation.
References
[1] Sensini,
A., and Cristofolini, L., 2018, “Biofabrication of electrospun scaffolds
for the regeneration of tendons and ligaments,” MDPI Materials,
11(10-1963), pp. 1-43.
[2] Sensini,
A., Gualandi, C., Cristofolini, L., Tozzi, G., Dicarlo, M., Teti, G.,
Mattioli-Belmonte, M., and Focarete, M. L., 2017, “Biofabrication of
bundles of poly(lactic acid)-collagen blends mimicking the fascicles of the
human Achille tendon,” Biofabrication, 9(1), p. 015025.
[3] Sensini,
A., Gualandi, C., Zucchelli, A., Boyle, L. A., Kao, A. P., Reilly, G. C.,
Tozzi, G., Cristofolini, L., and Focarete, M. L., 2018, “Tendon
Fascicle-Inspired Nanofibrous Scaffold of Polylactic acid/Collagen with
Enhanced 3D-Structure and Biomechanical Properties,” Scientific Reports,
8(1(17167)), pp. 1-15.
Research project
The focus of the activities will be on optimizing and
testing electrospun hierarchical scaffolds made of blends of natural (collagen)
and synthetic (PLLA) polymers so as to ensure that they become suitable for
implantation. This PhD candidate will
spend 30-40% of his/her time in the biomechanical laboratory of prof.
Cristofolini, 30-40% of the time in the Chemistry lab of prof. Focarete and the
remaining 20-40% of in the clinical settlement, in collaboration with Rizzoli
Orthopaedic Institute. Furthermore, an
international secondment of 2+3 months at the University of Portsmouth is
planned to complement the preparation of this candidate providing
high-resolution imaging and cell culture, whereas an international secondment
of 2+3 months at Erlangen University is planned to complement the preparation
of this candidate on scaffold functionalization and biomineralization.
Activity 1 – CLINICAL TRAINING. Building the
understanding of lesions of the tendons and ligament, about the current
surgical techniques for reconstruction, and about the post-op failure
mechanisms. This activity will be
particularly intense during the 1st year, to acquire new clinical
understanding. However, during the
entire duration of development and validation activities will be closely
connected to the clinical environment.
Activity 2 – STERILIZATION TECHNIQUE.
Within this activity the candidate will first get familiar with the
sterilization techniques that can be applied to this family of resorbable
materials. Tests will be carried out to
identify a technique and the parameters that grant adequate reduction of the
bioburden, without compromising the mechanical properties and the biocompatibility
of the scaffolds
Activity 3 –SCAFFOLD BIOACTIVITY AND INTEGRATION WITH HOST TISSUE. This activity will be carried out in parallel
with the previous ones, with the aim to optimize the constituent material and
increase the bioactivity of the scaffold and its integration with the surrounding
tissues. Within this activity the
candidate will get familiar with scaffold functionalization techniques.
Activity 4 – BONE INSERTIONS. The
activities within this activity are fundamental to adapt the scaffolds and
define the surgical technique that will provide adequate insertion in the host
bone. This is currently one of the main
surgical challenges. The input of the
clinical supervisor is extremely important in this phase.
Innovation potential
This proposal mainly aims at technological innovation: this PhD project
will provide significant advancement in the development and validation of
nanofibrous scaffolds. In particular,
currently no hierarchical scaffold is available for the regeneration of tendons
and ligaments. This research will deliver
unpreceded solution with highly biomimetic scaffolds. The main points of innovation will be:
Advancing
the development of electrospun hierarchical bioresorbable scaffold
Developing
and validating technological and surgical solutions for the attachment of such
scaffolds to the host tissues
Developing
and testing innovative solutions to prevent inflammatory response and tissue
adhesion
Furthermore, it is foreseen that this project will deliver scientific
innovation providing new insights in the way host tissues (tendon, ligament,
bone and enthesis) react to nanofibrous scaffolds
Expected results and applications to human pathology
and therapy
This project is meant to develop a better solution for the repair and
regeneration of lesions of tendon and ligaments, so as to overcome the critical
limitations of the current commercial devices and surgical techniques. This will allow, in a perspective, to deliver
better treatments both to young patients (typically affected by traumatic
lesions) and elderly ones (presenting degenerative lesions).
While in the duration of this PhD project it is not realistic to start a
clinical trial on humans, it will definitely open the way to a dedicated animal
trial.
The research team
This candidate will have an engineering
background. While this will facilitate
him/her in grasping the technical part of the project, some time and effort
must be dedicated at the beginning to improve his/her understanding of the
clinical problem. This
project is rooted between three groups:
The
group of Prof. Focarete (Chemistry
Department) will provide the training and expertise on electrospinning,
polymers, and treatment and modification of polymers.
The
group of Prof. Cristofolini
(Department of Industrial Engineering) will provide “training through research”
in the area of biomechanics and material characterization.
The
group of Dr Traina will provide
training and supervision on the surgical procedures for tendon and ligament
repair, on complications, and will supervise the design of the implantation
technique.
Prof Focarete and Prof
Cristofolini have been collaborating in the recent years for the development of
the first prototype of this implantable scaffold. The success of collaboration is documented by
a number of joint publications. Also:
Prof. Traina and prof. Cristofolini have been intensively collaborating for
years on research projects at the intersection between orthopaedic clinical
application and biomechanics research. A
strong integration of the two research groups has been achieved by involving the
clinical staff in lab activity, and the lab staff in clinical research. This PhD candidate will enjoy this extremely
stimulating interdisciplinary environment, and will share his/her research time
between clinics (in tight collaboration with Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute) and
biomechanics lab.
The Polymer Science and Biomaterials group at the
Chemistry Department “Ciamician”, UNIBO has recognized expertise on structure-polymer correlation of natural and
synthetic polymeric biomaterials. The group has strong knowledge of material
design, material processing through conventional and advanced innovative
technologies and nanotechnologies, material characterization and study of
biodegradability. The group has demonstrated the capability to develop
polymeric systems for drug delivery and as tissue models for tissue
engineering. In collaboration with the Biomechanics lab of prof. Cristofolini the group has
acquired knowledge to develop scaffolds with optimized biomechanical properties
by playing on the choice of the more appropriate material and on the selection
of the best morphological properties of the scaffolds.
The Biomechanics group is directed by prof Luca Cristofolini and prof
Marco Viceconti and is part of the Department
of Industrial Engineering. The group
has been active for almost 30 years in the area of musculoskeletal
biomechanics. The environment is
informal and friendly, and collaborations are encouraged between team members,
and between juniors and seniors. The
biomechanics group is formed by Italian and International young scientists, and
has strong ties with the clinics (e.g. Rizzoli Orthopaedic Hospital), with
international partners (as part of collaborative projects), and with the
industry (e.g. orthopaedic manufacturers, software developers). The focus of the
group directed by prof. Cristofolini is on the multi-scale biomechanical
characterization of skeletal structures and orthopaedic devices, and on the
integration of in vitro tests and
numerical modeling. Their main
activities focus on preclinical testing of orthopaedic implantable devices, and
validation of innovative surgical techniques.
Their group, in collaboration with the Electrospinning group, recently
developed and characterized innovative regenerative scaffolds. Furthermore, this group is acknowledged
internationally for the applications of DIC to biomechanics.
The Dept. of Orthopaedic-Traumatology and Prosthetic surgery and
revisions of hip and knee implants of the Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute is
nationally recognized for the treatment of severe orthopaedic conditions
including joints tendon and ligament reconstructions (mainly in the lower
limb). Its activity is mainly focused on
surgical treatment of complex cases, analysis and data collection of multiple
type of joint replacement surgery through different surgical approach and
procedures. Comparison between different
procedures and cases are routinely performed in order to continuously improve
the patient’s provision of care.
Specific skills useful for this PhD project
Desirable specific expertise preferentially required: good laboratory
practice; mechanical testing and experimental stress analysis; chemistry;
physicochemical characterization; handling and testing of biological tissue;
orthopaedic biomechanics; mechanical properties of living tissues; statistics
and design of the experiment.
PhD PROJECT #2:
Patient-Specific Spinal Surgery for Severe Scoliosis
(PS5)
Summary
Scoliosis can be extremely
threatening: pain, disability, compression of internal organs, breathing
problems are just some of the consequences. In the most severe cases,
corrective spinal surgery is the only viable option. In young and growing patients, adjustable
devices must be used, that are mobilized over the months to correct the spine
and follow the patient’s growth. One main challenge for the clinical
specialist is to choose the optimal treatment for each patient, for example how
to plan the right amount of adjustment over time, so as to achieve the desired
correction while avoiding complications and adverse effects. Currently, surgeons are guided only by
intuition and experience. The aim of
this PhD project is to develop and validate a modelling technology capable of
generating patient-specific predictive models of the spine biomechanics that
can be used as a treatment planning tools, by simulating different treatment
options and predict the occurrence of adverse effects including spinal cord
compression, facets impingement, excessive strain of the intervertebral discs,
excessive stretch of the muscles.
Objectives of this
project
The project aims to develop a
treatment simulation environment to optimise the treatment of scoliosis
patients. The research will articulate in the following phases:
Collection of dedicated biomechanical information
(stiffness of discs and ligaments, range of motion) through ex vivo testing of spine specimens.
Development of the
protocol to build patient-specific computer models of the spine biomechanics
from medical imaging data (CT, MRI and X-ray).
Use of the ex vivo experimental data to quantify
the model predictive accuracy.
Develop a
treatment simulation environment, where the most common interventions are
properly simulated, and adverse effects (if any) predicted.
Use retrospective
clinical data to establish the clinical accuracy of treatment simulation
environment when compared with the actual outcome of a specific treatment in a
given patient.
Through these
activities, the PhD student will gain skills in the area of biomechanics, in
silico modelling, and orthopaedics (spine)that will make him/her employable in
the academia, but also in device manufacturers and developer of medical
software.
Rationale and scientific background
Congenital and idiopathic scoliosis can be extremely threatening when
causing severe deformity. Pain,
disability, compression of internal organs, breathing and cardiac problems are
just some of the consequences.
Corrective surgery is the only option in extreme cases: this consists in
the implantation of screws (or hooks) and rods that restore alignment in the
frontal and sagittal planes. The surgeon
must find a compromise between extreme correction (ideally restoring “perfect”
anatomy) and avoiding damage due to compression or stretching of the spinal
cord or nerves. In young patients, an
additional challenge derives from the changes over time due to growth. In these cases, the surgeon can use Magnetically
Controlled Growing Rods that must be mobilized at time intervals to induce
progressive correction and allow natural lengthening. Currently, no evidence-based tool is
available to help the surgeon plan the optimal compromise. Surgeons can only follow their experience
and, to some extent, a trial-and-correct approach [1]. This clearly exposes the patient to the risk
of unnecessary pain, organ damage, and sub-optimal correction.
References:
A Gonzalez Alvarez, KD. Dearn, BM. Lawless, C Lavecchia,
, T Greggi, DET Shepherd Design and
mechanical evaluation of a novel dynamic growing rod to improve the surgical
treatment of Early Onset Scoliosis.
Material and Design 2018;155:334-45
Research project
The focus of the activities will be on developing a
numerical model of the growing spine while undergoing correction. This PhD candidate will spend 60-70% of
his/her time in the biomechanical laboratory developing in vitro tests (supervisor L. Cristofolini) and numerical models
(supervisor M. Viceconti), 30-40% of the time in the clinical settlement
(Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute) collecting and analysing retrospective patient
cases. Furthermore, an international
secondment of 4-5 months at a foreign clinical institution (for example, the Buda
National Center for Spinal Disorders led by Prof Peter Paul Varga, in
Budapest), preliminary step to develop a full scale multicentric clinical trial
for the new technology after the end of the PhD project.
WP1 – BASIC CLINICAL
TRAINING. Building the understanding of
spinal deformity, surgical corrections, short-and long-term outcomes and
complications. This WP will be particularly intense during the 1st
year, to acquire new clinical understanding.
However, during the entire duration of development and validation
activities will be closely connected to the clinical environment.
WP2 – COLLECTION OF EX VIVO DATA. Within this WP the candidate will collect a
set of biomechanical data from cadaveric spines from young donors. This will serve to initialize the models and
identify the relevant parameters (WP3 and 3)
WP3 – PROTOCOL FOR
PATIENT-SPECIFIC MODELLING. This will
include the Development of the modelling protocol on retrospective data and the
Development of ad hoc imaging protocols.
WP4 – EX VIVO
VALIDATION OF PREDICTIVE MODELS. The
candidate will use the experimental data collected in WP2, and the modelling
protocol developed in WP3, to develop predictive models of the ex vivo
experiments form CT data of the specimens and validate the modelling protocol
by comparing the model predictions to the experimental measurements.
WP5 – DEVELOP
TREATMENT SIMULATION ENVIRONMENT. Once
the model is fully validated ex vivo,
the candidate will develop the simulation of the various interventions
available.
Innovation potential
There is an acute unmet need for proper planning tools in the treatment
of sever scoliosis. While the biomechanics of the scoliotic spine is complex,
in the last 20 years a massive amount of experimental and modelling work has
been done, which can be capitalised here. We thus believe there is a significant
innovation potential in this project. If
reasonable predictive accuracies are achieved, after the end of the project we
will explore the possibility to hand over the technology to a company, or to
establish an exploitation team without our group. In both cases, a multicentric clinical trial
will be required to demonstrate the efficacy of this new technology when
compared to the current standard of care.
Meanwhile we will work to establish a planning service for Dr Greggi
clinic, and for any other spine surgeon at the Rizzoli Institute, who is
interested in using this technology to plan their interventions.
Expected results and applications to human pathology
and therapy
In this case, the clinical impact is self-explanatory: if the technology
works as expected, and provide sufficient accuracy to be clinically
informative, this could radically change the standard of care for the handling
of sever scoliosis cases.
The research team
This candidate will have an engineering
background. While this will facilitate
him/her in grasping the technical part of the project, some time and effort
must be dedicated at the beginning to improve his/her understanding of the
clinical problem. This
project is rooted between different and complementary expertise:
The
group of Prof. Cristofolini (Department of Industrial Engineering) will provide
“training through research” in the area of biomechanics and material
characterization.
The
group of Prof. Viceconti (Department of Industrial Engineering) will provide
“training through research” in the area of computational biomechanics and
patient-specific modelling.
The
group of Dr. Greggi will provide training and supervision on the surgical
procedures for the spine and on complications, and will supervise the design of
the modelling strategy, and the retrospective validation.
This PhD candidate will enjoy
this extremely stimulating interdisciplinary environment and will share his/her
research time between clinics (in tight collaboration with Rizzoli Orthopaedic
Institute) and biomechanics lab.
The Biomechanics group is directed by prof Luca Cristofolini and prof
Marco Viceconti and is part of the Department
of Industrial Engineering. The group
has been active for almost 30 years in the area of musculoskeletal
biomechanics. The environment is
informal and friendly, and collaborations are encouraged between team members,
and between juniors and seniors. The
biomechanics group is formed by Italian and International young scientists, and
has strong ties with the clinics (e.g. Rizzoli Orthopaedic Hospital), with
international partners (as part of collaborative projects), and with the
industry (e.g. orthopaedic manufacturers, software developers). The focus of the
group directed by prof. Cristofolini is on the multi-scale biomechanical
characterization of skeletal structures and orthopaedic devices, and on the
integration of in vitro tests and
numerical modeling. Their main
activities focus on preclinical testing of orthopaedic implantable devices, and
validation of innovative surgical techniques.
Furthermore, this group is acknowledged internationally for the
applications of DIC to biomechanics.
The Rachis Deformity Surgery
of the Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute is nationally recognized for the treatment
of severe deformity in adult and young patients. The group directed by dr Greggi is constantly
developing new surgical protocols to improve treatment of young and growing
patients. Comparison between different procedures and cases are routinely
performed in order to continuously improve the patient’s provision of care.
Specific skills useful for this PhD project
Desirable specific expertise preferentially required: good laboratory practice;
mechanical testing and experimental stress analysis; handling and testing of
biological tissue; orthopaedic biomechanics; mechanical properties of living
tissues; statistics and design of the experiment; medical imaging.
PhD PROJECT #3:
Innovative technique
to repair osteoporotic fractures with bone substitutes
Summary
The second most common site for
traumatic fracture in the elderly is the upper limb (proximal humerus and
distal radius). Reconstruction of these
fractures is currently performed with plates and screws. In both cases, healing failures (mainly
pseudo-arthrosis) derive from lack of stabilization of the bone fragments,
which is particularly frequent in case of poor bone quality and osteoporotic
defects. As the current technique is
dissatisfactory (adding more screws would not solve the problem) we will
explore a different approach. A bone
substitute will be used in combination or in replacement of plates and screws. This PhD project consists of three main
actions: (i) biomechanical testing of different reconstruction techniques to
identify the optimal ones; (ii) definition of surgical guidelines based on ex
vivo fluoroscopic imaging (similar to the foreseen surgical protocol), in
relation to biomechanical performance; (iii) definition and following of
clinical trial on selected fracture cases.
This project originated from the
clinical problem encountered by orthopaedic surgeons, will require significant
input from the technical area, and will rely on collaboration with a biomedical
company.
Objectives of this
project
This PhD project addresses a clinical objective:
developing and validating an alternative technique for the treatment of
osteoporotic fractures of the upper limb.
This project will start from preclinical in vitro testing, and will finally reach the first stages of
clinical trial. The following specific
aims will be targeted:
Adapting the
surgical technique through in vitro tests
and biomechanical simulations. This will
allow to define the biomechanical criteria for the use of the bone substitute,
and will confirm which of the traditional osteosynthesis components can be
avoided.
Definition of the
surgical guidelines to indicate the surgeon the optimal amount of bone
substitute to be delivered in each patient under safe conditions. This part will integrate imaging techniques
with biomechanical testing, so as to confirm the conditions to be achieved
during surgery to grant optimal strength of the reconstruction.
Testing the
concept through a first clinical trial so as to provide clinical evidence about
the safety and efficacy of this technique.
Rationale and scientific background
Proximal humeral and distal radial fractures account
for about 25% of all fractures in the elderly and affecting approximately 142
out of 10,000 persons per year [1].
Locking plate fixation is considered the optimal treatment for these
fractures, when possible. Incidence of
complications increases according to patient’s age, number of fragments,
fracture pattern and dislocation [2].
Intra-operative risks of this technique include articular cartilage
damage while drilling or inserting the screws [3]. This risk is increased as the surgeon may
need to use multiple screws to stabilize the different fragments, since in
osteoporotic setting the screws must be long enough to achieve fixation in the
subchondral bone. The most common
post-operative failure mechanism of plated proximal humeral fractures is a
secondary loss of reduction [3]. Low
bone mineral density (BMD) is the primary cause of this complication. In fact, one of the most common mechanisms of
failure is a sliding of the fragment: osteoporotic bone has a weak mechanical
structure, and repetitive loading damages the cancellous bone because of the
high stress at the tips and threads of the screws.
In these fractures it is important to obtain immediate
post-operative fixation strength, to early mobilize the shoulder and prevent
post-operative stiffness. To reduce the
incidence of mechanical failure, several augmentation techniques have been
developed. While augmentation provides
some improvements, it also has different specific drawbacks [3]. Recently some innovative products have been
released, with the aim of conjugating the positive aspects of the different
augmenting materials. In particular the
biomaterial used for this study is a combination of beta-TCP (beta-tricalcium
phosphate) and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), aiming to provide good initial
mechanical property, and bone ingrowth with partial substitution over time [4].
Therefore, to improve the reconstruction technique for
such fractures, alternative techniques are being sought. Rather than increasing the number of screws,
the focus is shifting towards bone substitutes as means of initial fixation,
and to promote bone healing [5]. The
trauma surgeons in Rizzoli area are among the pioneers in this field.
References
[1] WHO, 2007.
Assessment of fracture risk and its application for postmenopausal
osteoporosis. Report of WHO study group, World Health Organization, Geneva.
[2] Gavaskar
AS, Karthik B, Tummala N Second generation locked plating for complex proximal
humerus fractures in very elderly patients. Injury 2016; 47(11): 2534–38
[3] Thanasas C,
Kontakis G, Angoules A. Treatment of proximal humerus fractures with locking
plates: systematic review. J. shoulder Elb. Surg. 2009;18(6):837–44.
[4] Dall’Oca C,
Maluta T, Micheloni GM, et al. The biocompatibility of bone cements: progress
in methodological approach. Eur. J. Histochem. 2017;61(2):2673.
[5] Kammerlander C, Neuerburg C, Verlaan J-J, et
al. The use of augmentation techniques in osteoporotic
fracture fixation. Injury. 2016;47:S36–S43.
Research project
This project aims at bringing towards the clinical
trial a treatment solution that currently has been exploratively tested in vitro. This PhD project will start with training of
the candidate (which must have a technical background) on the clinical problem
(WP1). The candidate will then spend
60-70% of his/her time in the biomechanical laboratory of prof. Cristofolini
developing and testing the treatments solutions (WP2 and 3). Finally, he/she will spend the remaining time
in the Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute, analysing the results from the clinical
trial.
WP1 – CLINICAL TRAINING. The
candidate first will need to get familiar with the types of fracture, treatment
options, and failure scenarios. This
activity will be particularly intense during the 1st year, to
acquire new clinical understanding.
However, during the entire duration of development and validation
activities will be closely connected to the clinical environment.
WP2 – BIOMECHANICAL OPTIMIZATION OF REPAIR TECHNIQUE. This part of the project will explore
different treatment options aiming to reduce/avoid the use of screws and plates
in osteoporotic fractures of the upper limb, and to assess the biomechanical
influence of using a bone substitute. The
core of this WP is a series of biomechanical in vitro tests on cadaveric bone specimens.
WP3 – DEFINITION OF SURGICAL GUIDELINES.
While WP2 concentrates on biomechanical optimization, this WP aims to
identify the optimal indications for actual clinical implementation. The optimal types of reconstruction for the
humerus and radius (not necessarily the same) will be addressed. Reconstructions will again be performed on
cadaveric specimens, but using instrumentation and imaging as in real surgery,
to define the ideal protocol.
WP4 – CLINICAL TRIAL. The best
solutions (from WP2) will be applied to fracture patients following the
guidelines (from WP3). Preliminary
approval by the ethical committee and the relevant authorities has already been
submitted for an initial clinical trial.
Innovation potential
This PhD student, in collaboration with the
orthopaedic surgeons involved and the biomechanical group, will develop and
assess a new solution for treating osteoporotic fractures. The combined use of an osteoconductive
injectable bone substitute and classic screws, and the use of such bone
substitute are a new concept for the treatment of this type of fractures. This project will therefore lead to
technological innovation in the delivery and use of such cement (possibly
requiring further development of the bone substitute itself, in collaboration
with the Manufacturer).
Expected results and applications to human pathology
and therapy
This project will develop and validate better
treatments for osteoporotic fractures of the upper limb, that are currently
difficult to treat, and have unacceptably high failure rate. It is expected that the innovative solutions
proposed will improve fracture treatment in different ways:
Lower incidence of
articular damage due to intra-op cartilage drill-in
Lower incidence of
short- and mid-term failures (pseudarthrosis, malunions)
Better bone
healing thanks to the osteoconductive bone substitute.
The research team
This candidate will have a technical
background. While this will facilitate
him/her in grasping the technical part of the project, some time and effort
must be dedicated at the beginning to improve his/her understanding of the
clinical problem.
This project between a technical and a
clinical environment:
The
group of Prof. Cristofolini (Department of Industrial Engineering) will provide
“training through research” in the area of biomechanics and material
characterization.
Rizzoli
Institute (dr Guerra and prof. Faldini) will provide training and supervision
on the most frequent bone fractures, on the current techniques for
osteosynthesis, and on the need for improvement; dr Guerra will contribute to
the design of the reconstruction techniques, and on laying down the
specifications for biomechanical testing.
Prof. Cristofolini has been
intensively collaborating for years on research projects at the intersection
between orthopaedic clinical application and biomechanics research together
with dr Guerra and with prof Faldini. A
strong integration of the two research groups has been achieved by involving
the clinical staff in lab activity, and the lab staff in clinical
research. The success of collaboration
is documented by a number of joint publications. This PhD candidate will enjoy this extremely
stimulating interdisciplinary environment, and will share his/her research time
between clinics (in tight collaboration with Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute) and
biomechanics lab.
The Biomechanics group is directed by prof Luca Cristofolini and prof
Marco Viceconti and is part of the Department
of Industrial Engineering. The group
has been active for almost 30 years in the area of musculoskeletal
biomechanics. The environment is informal
and friendly, and collaborations are encouraged between team members, and
between juniors and seniors. The
biomechanics group is formed by Italian and International young scientists, and
has strong ties with the clinics (e.g. Rizzoli Orthopaedic Hospital), with
international partners (as part of collaborative projects), and with the
industry (e.g. orthopaedic manufacturers, software developers). The focus of the
group directed by prof. Cristofolini is on the multi-scale biomechanical
characterization of skeletal structures and orthopaedic devices, and on the
integration of in vitro tests and
numerical modeling. Their main
activities focus on preclinical testing of orthopaedic implantable devices, and
validation of innovative surgical techniques.
Furthermore, this group is acknowledged internationally for the
applications of DIC to biomechanics.
The Dept. of Shoulder and Elbow surgery of the Rizzoli Orthopaedic
Institute continuously performs teaching and research activity. It participates
to several national and international clinical studies, for example for the
ultrasound guided treatment of calcific tendinopathy, the development of new
materials for osteosynthesis of shoulder and elbow fractures. Several patents
have been ideated and registered, such as a titanium mini-plate for surgical
repair of the rotator cuff, a special postoperative brace for the shoulder, a
self-threading titanium screw for a plastic plate. The Unit has a constant partnership with
scientific laboratories to improve arthroscopic suture techniques in rotator
cuff repair, for shoulder prosthesis design improvement, and in the field of
regenerative medicine for poor quality or massive tears of rotator cuff
tendons, for the study and treatment of osteoporosis.
The I Clinic of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery of the Rizzoli
Orthopaedic Institute is nationally recognized for the treatment of severe
orthopaedic conditions including joints diseases which require both primary and
revision surgery. Its activity is mainly
focused on surgical treatment of complex cases, analysis and data collection of
multiple type of joint replacement surgery through different surgical approach
and procedures. Comparison between different procedures and cases are routinely
performed in order to continuously improve the patient’s provision of care.
Specific skills useful for this PhD project
Desirable specific expertise preferentially required: good laboratory
practice; mechanical testing and experimental stress analysis; handling and
testing of biological tissue; orthopaedic biomechanics; mechanical properties
of living tissues; statistics and design of the experiment.
Description: Bone biomechanics is a major research interest at the Institute for Lightweight Design and Structural Biomechanics (ILSB). Bone fracture risk increases with age and disease, yet reliable clinical tools to diagnose patients at risk are still lacking to this date. Building on previous research projects and expertise at the ILSB this project aims to conduct experiments of trabecular bone tissue at the level of individual trabeculae in particular in uniaxial compression and tension. The experiments are then to be analysed via finite element models with the aim to establish constitutive damage models for bone tissue. These are then to be validated against experiments at the apparent level of trabecular bone. Further investigations are to be carried out in order to elucidate difference in damage behaviour of trabecular between samples obtained from younger / healthier and older / diseased donors. The post also included participation in teaching activities carried out at the ILSB, including courses in biomechanics as well as the methods of finite elements. Qualifications: We seek an individual with a completed MSc in Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, Materials Science Electrical Engineering or a related discipline. We are specifically looking for candidates with knowledge in biomechanics and finite element modelling, experience in experimental (bio-)mechanics, script-programming (e.g. Python). German language skills, i.e. native speaker or level B2 according to CEFR are required. Further information: For informal discussions please contact Professor Philipp Thurner, pthurner@ilsb.tuwien.ac.at How to apply: please send applications to rene.fuchs@tuwien.ac.at no later than April 28th 2019.
Employer: The University of Sheffield (Department of Mechanical Engineering)
Location: Sheffield
Description
Salary: £40,792 – £48,677 per annum. Potential to progress to £54,765 per annum through sustained exceptional contribution. Grade 8
Mechanical Engineering has been a major discipline in the University of Sheffield since its foundation in 1905 and is a thriving department within the University’s Faculty of Engineering. We are one of the UK’s leading departments of Mechanical Engineering, and are home to over 1000 students (Undergraduate, Postgraduate Taught and Postgraduate Research) and 58 academic staff.
The Department is seeking to appoint a Lecturer to work within the Insigneo Institute for in silico Medicine (Insigneo), an initiative between the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Sheffield, and the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust. You will also be a member of staff in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
The successful applicant will need to hold a good first degree and PhD in a topic relevant to biomechanics (or equivalent experience) and have research experience and plans that are complementary to the research themes of Insigneo, details of which can be found on the Insigneo website: https://insigneo.org/
In addition, you will need to demonstrate how you plan to conduct a high quality programme of research, including attracting external funding from a range of sources, publishing working in high quality peer-reviewed journals, attending conferences and building an international profile.
Furthermore, you will also be required to carry out teaching duties including designing, delivering, assessing and reviewing teaching programmes for undergraduate and postgraduate students. Initially, you will be allocated a lighter than average teaching load (typically just one 10 credit course), and little or no administrative duties to allow you to focus on establishing your research career. We will also provide a generous support package to ensure rapid progress in your research activity.
This is an excellent research opportunity to become part of the Insigneo Institute for in silico Medicine and contribute to its cutting-edge research in the development of biomechanics methods for neuro-musculo-skeletal, cardiovascular, respiratory, or urinary pathologies.
Insigneo is the largest European research institute dedicated to Computational Medicine, with the aims to realise the scientific ambition behind the Virtual Physiological Human, producing a transformational impact on healthcare. Insigneo performs cutting edge research in areas of fundamental and applied biomedical modelling, imaging, and informatics.
For informal enquiries about this job, the recruiting department, and the Insigneo institute contact: Professor Claudia Mazzà c.mazza@sheffield.ac.uk or on +44 (0)114 222 6073. For administration queries and details on the application process, contact the lead recruiter: Julie Fryer on j.e.fryer@sheffield.ac.uk or on +44 (0)114 222 7712.
A PhD position is available at the BCN-MedTech Research Unit (https://www.upf.edu/web/bcn-medtech/), Department of Information & Communication Technologies (DTIC) of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain, in close collaboration with IDIBAPS and BCNatal – The Fetal Medicine Research Centre (https://medicinafetalbarcelona.org) of Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, starting October 2019.
PhD project: The Heart-Brain axis, or There and Back again: the journey towards brain development traverses vascular territories
The heart and the brain are arguably the two most fascinating and important organs of the human body. Scientists have been studying these organs for centuries but mainly at an individual organ level. There is a need for a more systemic approach to study the physiology of some neurological and cardiovascular processes that remain not well understood, even with the current deluge of medical data and tools available nowadays. A good example involves brain development, especially in abnormal conditions such as after insults during pregnancy (Intra-Uterine Growth Restriction, IUGR). There are plain and numerous evidences on the effect of IUGR on the cardiovascular system and in the brain of these infants, but they have never been studied together. The aim of this project is to create a computational modelling platform, linking heart and brain systems, to test the influence of mechanical forces originating from vascular anatomy, haemodynamics and metabolic characteristics on brain development in normal and abnormal conditions. This research will open up opportunities for understanding systems-based mechanisms of other conditions affecting heart and brain such as congenital heart disease, schizophrenia, autism, neurodegenerative diseases or neurocardiology applications.
The first task will involve the development of a model of neurological development coupling brain mechanics with a multi-scale model of blood circulation and metabolism. Local forces will arise from anisotropic tissue surrounded by fluid and skull as well as pulsatile forces through vessels and their acute and chronic remodelling. Blood circulation models from the heart to the brain will provide regional flow and pressures at different scales, whereas metabolic exchange models will be included to describe oxygen and nutrients diffusion from vasculature to brain tissue. In a second phase of the project, parametric studies will be performed to identify the most relevant characteristics for normal and abnormal brain development. Mesh-less numerical techniques will be explored. Robust verification and validation experiments of the developed computational models will be implemented, both for each sub-system individually and globally. A thorough sensitivity analysis of the parameters will be achieved to determine the ones having the largest influence on brain development and how cardiovascular deficiencies can induce abnormal neurodevelopment. A unique clinical database of IUGR cases available at Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, including brain and heart data from the same cases, will be used to personalize, validate and guide the modelling work. The combination of physiological modelling and machine learning techniques to analyse this data is planned.
This project is strongly interdisciplinary, joining clinical, biomedical and technical expertise. The PhD candidate will be surrounded by a team including experts, postdocs and junior researchers from different disciplines (engineering/physics, biomedical/experimental), available in the hosting research group (PhySense, part of the BCN-MedTech research unit at UPF) and from our collaborators (P. Saez, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya; D. Rueckert, Imperial College London; M. Sermesant, M. Lorenzi, Inria, France; O. Coulon, Aix-Marseille Université; Pr. B. Bijnens, Dr. F. Crispi, Dr. E. Eixarch, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona; M. Vázquez, Barcelona Supercomputing Centre; V. Borrell, Instituto Neurociencias Alicante; S. Safaei, G. Talou, P. Hunter, Auckland Bioengineering Institute).
Workplace
The main supervisor of this PhD is Oscar Camara, Associate Professor at the Department of Information and Communication Technologies of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (DTIC-UPF, https://www.upf.edu/web/etic), and leader of the PhySense research group. The DTIC at the UPF is the first Spanish ICT department that has been awarded with the María de Maeztu grant (excellence in science and innovation accreditation, 2016-2019) on data-driven knowledge extraction (https://www.upf.edu/web/mdm-dtic), and the Spanish university department with the largest number of ERC grants (15, including 6 Advanced ERC Grants). PhySense was recognized as an Emerging Research Group by the Government of Catalonia in 2014 and it is currently composed of 21 members, including 6 postdocs, 10 PhDs and 3 software developers. In September 2016, the group was one of the founding members of the BCN-MedTech unit (https://bcn-medtech.upf.edu/), a Research Unit at UPF that holds more than 200 I+D projects, 95 external collaborations, 1000 high-impact publications, 19 patents and 61 PhD Thesis. It recently (2018) obtained the TECNIO certification from the Catalan Government, given to research centres with proven record of technology transfer.
The PhD will be performed in close collaboration with clinical researchers from Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, experts in both cardiovascular and brain-related development and remodelling: IDIBAPS, supervised by ICREA Research Pr. B. Bijnens; and The Fetal Medicine Research Centre at the Maternity Hospital; supervised by Dr. F. Crispi, Dr. E. Eixarch and Pr. E. Gratacós). Researchers from prestigious international institutions will also be involved in the project (see above), enabling the possibility of short stays during the doctorate.
Profile of the candidate
We are looking for highly motivated young researchers with a Master degree (or equivalent) in Biomedical Engineering, Physics, Mechanical Engineering, Applied Mathematics, Computational Science, or related disciplines, willing to study and do research at the leading edge of biomedical engineering. Experience in computer sciences and having proven programming skills would be of importance. High motivation is the only essential pre-requisite; our top-quality research standards demand hard work, which only strong motivation and commitment can ensure. Nevertheless, candidates already familiar with (continuum) mechanics, ideally in medical applications, would have a faster start of the project. Review Tallinen et al. paper (Nature Physics, 2016; https://www.seas.harvard.edu/softmat/downloads/Brain-morph.pdf) as a good example on what it should motivate and not scare you (code available: http://users.jyu.fi/~tutatall/codes.html).
Candidates must have excellent teamwork and communication skills and be enthusiastic about collaborating with a diverse range of international partners. We expect them to be fluent in English as it will be the language used to interrelate with the different partners. Interest in clinical translation is essential since meetings with clinicians will regularly take place. Female applicants are explicitly encouraged to apply and will be treated preferentially whenever they are equally qualified as other male candidates.
An initial training plan will be set up by selecting the best opportunities in the PhD programme of UPF and available initiatives within our collaborators. Clinical training will be organized depending on the needs and background of the researcher. BCN-MedTech offers an ideal working environment, mainly due to the large critical mass of experienced senior investigators in diverse areas of biomedical engineering, junior postdoctoral researchers and an international team of talented young PhD students; there is always someone that can help! In addition, the extensive network of collaborations, including clinical and large infrastructure partners, gives us a privileged access to unique data, software and technological facilities. The maximum score usually obtained in individual national and international fellowships evaluating the institution repeatedly demonstrates the excellent training environment of BCN-MedTech. Initially, this PhD will be funded by a DTIC-UPF fellowship, which is associated to a teaching load of 60 hours per academic year (https://www.upf.edu/web/etic/predoctoral-research-contracts), which is a good opportunity for PhD students to get familiar, from the beginning of their career, with teaching activities. The teaching topics are chosen depending on the PhD background, preferentially in the biomedical engineering BSc and MSc degrees we manage (https://www.upf.edu/en/web/etic/bachelor-degree-biomedical-engineering-2016). Supervising practicum internships as well as BSc and MSc thesis is also possible. The first year starts with around 1000 euros gross monthly salary, which is progressively increased during the PhD. You won’t get rich, we know; unfortunately, this is valid for most pre-doctoral students worldwide. Nevertheless, we encourage and support our students to apply for individual fellowships, which are usually better paid (https://www.upf.edu/web/phdfunding). Complements can be discussed.
Deadline and contact information
Applicants should send a curriculum vitae and a motivation letter describing their research interests to Oscar Camara <oscar.camara@upf.edu>. Deadline: 9th of April 2019.
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, Psychotherapy, Counselling Sciences 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.
Starting at Mai 2019, the department of anatomy and biomechanics (division of biomechanics, Univ. Prof. Dr. Dieter Pahr) offers a research position, which is limited to the duration of three years:
Research Assistant m/f (Pre Doc, 30 h)
Your responsibilities:
Participation in the funded research project “Development of functional anatomical models using 3D Printing“ (carried out together with ACMIT Gmbh, Wr. Neustadt)
In particular: 3D printing of different materials, mechanical characterization of 3D printed parts as well as biological tissues, micro‐computed tomography (μCT), implementation of analysis software, writing of scientific reports
Supervision of students and participation in teaching
Your profile:
Master degree in biomedical engineering, mechanical or civil engineering, technical physics, material sciences or similar fields
Handicraft skills and enjoyment of manual laboratory work
Interest in 3D printing and scientific work
Reliable and independent way of working
Friendly and team oriented personality
Your perspective:
You can expect a challenging job in an internationally recognized and highly motivated team
Achieve the academic degree of a PhD (Dr. techn.), issued from the TU Vienna.
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 welcome.
The minimum gross salary for this position is € 2.112,40 (30 h). Overpayment based on the internal salary structure and individual qualifications and experience is possible.
Applications should include a motivation letter, curriculum vitae, and credentials and should be mailed by 29 March 2019 to Ms. Christina Schwaiger of the Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Dr.-Karl- Dorrek-Straße 30, 3500 Krems, Austria (bewerbung@kl.ac.at).
Osteochondral lesions are painful, and predispose to osteoarthritis (OA), which is unquestionably one of the most important chronic health issues in humans, affecting an estimated 8.5 million people in the UK only. Due to the absence of vascularisation in cartilage, its regenerative capacity is limited, and treatment is required for repair. Severe limitations of current treatments, such as microfracture and autografts, have inspired research into more effective tissue engineering strategies, involving the implantation of stem cells able to repair the tissue. The implanted stem cells must be able to differentiate both into cartilage and bone cells. The differentiation of the cells can be controlled by changes in the modulus of the implant; however, there are no current scaffold materials that allow this concurrent double differentiation. We therefore propose to use our state of the art 3D bioprinter (Cellink) – able to co-print multiple materials and cells – to develop complex structures of biocompatible polymers of selected stiffness and porosity, to study how architectural and mechanical properties of the scaffold guide cells differentiation into the two types of cells desired.
The successful candidate will have a PhD degree or equivalent with experience in tissue culture in particular with stem cells, knowledge of some of the following areas is desirable: bioengineering, mechanobiology, x-ray/confocal microscopy, mechanical testing, 3D printing and biomaterial formulation. The SRA will work in a dynamic environment and benefit from the existing collaborative research between Dr Marta Roldo (expert in the synthesis, formulation and characterisation of biocompatible materials), Dr Petko Petkov (expert in mechanical and design engineering required to adapt the 3D printing process to the higher complexity of bio 3D printing) and Dr Gianluca Tozzi (X-ray computed tomography and correlative imaging).
The post is based at the School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Science, University of Portsmouth, with the appointment effective as soon as possible or no later than 1st April 2019. For informal enquiries please contact Dr Marta Roldo at marta.roldo@port.ac.uk or phone +44 (0)23 9284 3586.
