25th Congress of the European Society of Biomechanics

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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!

PhD in “Biomechanics and biomedical engineering in reconstructive surgery of feet”

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Cranfield University and Aston University Birmingham

Applications are invited for a three year EPSRC Doctoral training Partnership Postgraduate studentship, supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to be undertaken within the Biomedical Engineering Research Unit at Aston University and the Forensics Biomechanics Laboratory in Cranfield University.

Musculoskeletal issues in the feet of growing children result in pain and gait problems during skeletal maturity in adolescence. Many of these cases require surgery to relieve pain and prevent disability in adult life such as joint arthritis. This project aims to investigate the key parameters impacting surgical outcomes with the aim of improving surgical planning and prognosis. This project will include gait analysis, parametric analysis of patient data and mechanical testing; therefore the candidate will be consulting with collaborators in orthopaedic surgery, biomechanics and mechanical engineers. The candidate will gain a unique opportunity to carry out clinical-led research in an exciting interdisciplinary project. The candidate would also benefit from the use of modern facilities at Aston and Cranfield. This includes a gait analysis lab, biomedical testing lab and tissue biomechanics lab. The candidate will spend the majority of time at Aston University with part of the time at Cranfield University’s Defence & Security School, Shrivenham.

At a glance

  • Application phase will stay open until the post is filled.
  • Award type(s)PhD
  • Start date after 04 Feb 2019
  • Duration of award 3 years
  • Eligibility EU, UK
  • Reference number PHD CFI03

Supervisor

Professor Peter Zioupos (Cranfield University)

Dr Sarah Junaid (Aston University)

Clinical supervisor: Mr Basil Budair

Entry requirements

Applicants should have a Masters at merit level (or MEng) in an appropriate subject and a First class or upper second (2:1) class honours degree or equivalent qualification in Mechanical engineering, Biomedical Engineering or Biomechanics. The candidate will have an excellent academic track record and preferably have one or more of the following skills or knowledge/experience of: biomechanics, gait analysis, inverse dynamics, statistical data analysis, finite element modelling.

Person specification and full details at: www.cranfield.ac.uk/research/phd/cds-a-statistical-parametric-tool-for-flatfoot-surgery

Funding

This studentship includes a fee bursary to cover the home/EU fees rate plus a maintenance allowance of £ 14,777/year for 3 years.  

*Applicants from outside the EU may apply for this studentship but will need to pay the difference between the ‘Home/EU’ and the ‘Overseas’ tuition fees, which is currently a difference of £14,240 per annum.  As part of the application you will be required to confirm that you have applied for, or, secured this additional funding elsewhere, if you are from outside of the EU.

Cranfield Doctoral Network

Research students at Cranfield benefit from being part of a dynamic, focused and professional study environment and all become valued members of the Cranfield Doctoral Network. This Network brings together both research students and staff, providing a platform for our researchers to share ideas, identify opportunities for collaboration and create smaller communities of practice.  It aims to encourage an effective and vibrant research culture, founded upon the diversity of activities and knowledge. A tailored programme of seminars and events alongside our Doctoral Researchers Core Development programme (transferable skills training), provide those studying a research degree with a wealth of social and networking opportunities.

How to apply

If you are eligible to apply for this research studentship, please complete the online application form.

Please quote the following title and reference number: PhD in “Biomechanics and biomedical engineering in reconstructive surgery of feet” with the reference number PHDCFI03.

In addition to the application form, please attach a covering or motivational letter as well as a CV.

For further information contact us today:

CDS Admissions office
T: 44 (0) 1793 785400
E: cdsadmissionsoffice@cranfield.ac.uk

https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/phd-in-biomechanics-and-biomedical-engineering-in-reconstructive-foot-and-ankle-surgery/?p101135

PhD studentship in “Strain Measurement in Osteoarthritic Cartilage (SMOC)”

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Applications are invited for a fully-funded three year PhD to commence in October 2019. 

The PhD will be based in the School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences and will be supervised by Professor Gordon Blunn and Dr Gianluca Tozzi. 

The work on this project will investigate: 
– the strain distribution in normal human articular cartilage obtained from bone cancer specimens
– the strain distribution in human OA samples taken from the tibial plateau during total knee replacement 
– the strain distribution in specimens taken at different time points (longitudinal study) from animal models that develop OA 

Project description 


Osteoarthritis (OA) affects over 250 million people worldwide, impacts more than half of the population over the age of 65 and is predicted to increase 7-fold by 2030. Our understanding of the aetiology and 
pathogenesis of OA remains incomplete despite numerous research studies over several decades and treatments have been largely unsuccessful. 

Early OA is associated with early changes in the architecture and volume of subchondral bone, which has led many in the field to think of OA as a disease of the ‘whole joint.’ The focus on bone changes as the initial effector of the osteoarthritic process is influenced by studies proposing how pathogenesis of OA can be attributed to a primary alteration in surrounding bone, which leads to increased strains in the the overlying articular cartilage. This adversely affects chondrocyte function and cartilage matrix loss. This hypothesis is supported by numerous studies which have demonstrated that changes in bone occur very early in the development of OA. However, cartilage and bone both have the capacity to respond to adverse biomechanical signals and, therefore, it is more likely that both tissues undergo structural and functional alterations during the initiation and evolution of OA. The extent, the interrelated effect on bone and cartilage and the precise timing of these changes remains unknown. 

The strain in the subchondral bone and in the cartilage will be investigated using high-resolution 3D X-ray computed tomography (XCT), using both adsorption and phase-contrast imaging. Specimens will be subjected to in situ mechanical loading and imaged at increasing incremental loads. The degree of strain will be determined using digital volume correlation (DVC) and its distribution related to the degree of damage using histology and immunohistochemistry, which will detect the breakdown of the cartilage matrix. 

The University of Portsmouth is uniquely positioned to answer this research question with its state-of-the-art imaging facilities available at the Zeiss Global Centre as well as world-leading experience in digital volume correlation in musculoskeletal research. The project will develop and train a PGR student in the large research area of osteoarthritis, but at the same time will utilise new techniques to address the research question. The student will utilise and develop skills, which could be applied to other aspects of biomedical engineering giving them a number of potential career opportunities after completing the PhD. 

General admissions criteria 


You’ll need a good first degree from an internationally recognised university (minimum second class 
or equivalent, depending on your chosen course) or a Master’s degree in a relevant subject area . In exceptional cases, we may consider equivalent professional experience and/or Qualifications. English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.5 with no component score below 6.0. 

How to Apply 

We’d encourage you to contact Professor Gordon Blunn (gordon.blunn@port.ac.uk) to discuss your interest before you apply, quoting the project code. 

When you are ready to apply, you can use our online application form and select ‘Biomedical, Biomolecular and Pharmacy’ as the subject area. Make sure you submit a personal statement, proof of your degrees and grades, details of two referees, proof of your English language proficiency and an up-to-date CV. Our ‘How to Apply’ page offers further guidance on the PhD application process. 

If you want to be considered for this funded PhD opportunity you must quote project code PHBM4820219 when applying. 

Funding Notes

The bursary is available to UK and EU students only and covers tuition fees and an annual maintenance grant in line with the RCUK rate (£14,777 for 2018/19) for three years.

Two PhD studentships at the ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research University of Bern, Switzerland

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PhD Student in Computational Biomechanics

for a period of three years starting in the spring 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 a research project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation that will develop a new diagnostic tool for osteoporosis.

The project is initiated in cooperation with the Service for Bone Diseases of the University of Geneva (HUG) as well as the Polyclinic for Osteoporosis of the University Hospital in Bern. The candidate will advise undergraduate students in her/his domain of expertise and may be involved in teaching of biomedical engineering.

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).

Please, send your application, including a letter of motivation, complete CV and records before January 31st 2019 to

Prof. Philippe Zysset, Institute for Surgical Technologies & Biomechanics, University of Bern, Stauffacherstrasse 78, CH-3014 Bern

www.istb.unibe.ch

philippe.zysset@istb.unibe.ch

PhD Student in Medical Image Processing

for a period of three years starting in the spring 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 a research project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation that will develop a new diagnostic tool for osteoporosis.

The project is initiated in cooperation with the Service for Bone Diseases of the University of Geneva (HUG) as well as the Polyclinic for Osteoporosis of the University Hospital in Bern. The candidate will advise undergraduate students in her/his domain of expertise and may be involved in teaching of biomedical engineering.

The candidate must hold a Master’s Degree in biomedical engineering or related field. A solid background in mathematics and image processing is essential, practice in statistical shape modeling, broad programming skills are necessary and project related experience in biomechanics is advantageous. Strong writing skills in English are indispensable, while knowledge of French or German is desired.

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).

Please, send your application, including a letter of motivation, complete CV and records before January 31st 2019 to

Prof. Philippe Zysset, Institute of Surgical Technologies & Biomechanics, University of Bern, Stauffacherstrasse 78, CH-3014 Bern

www.istb.unibe.ch

philippe.zysset@istb.unibe.ch

Post-Doc in Qualification of in silico-augmented clinical trial approach @ University of Bologna

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Title: Qualification of in silico-augmented clinical trial approach to the efficacy assessment of new tuberculosis therapies in developing countries

Tutor: Prof Marco Viceconti – https://www.unibo.it/sitoweb/marco.viceconti/

Funding source: STriTuVaD project – https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/212940_en.html

To apply: https://www.aricweb.unibo.it/BandiPubblicati/zz_Bandi_din.aspx?strid=961

Deadline: 9 January 2019, 12:00 (applications must be sent by post or delivered by hand)

Research Project

In the framework of the STRITUVAD project partner University of Catania is developing a sophisticated simulation of the human immune system that can predict how a patient will respond to the disease activation of the Mycobacterium Tuberculosis bacterium already present in his/her body in term of bacterial spread, as a function of the patient general immune condition, and to the inoculation of specific therapies. The project goal is to refine this model so that it can:

  1. predict with sufficient accuracy the change in bacterial load over time in individual patients treated with different therapies;
  2. generate a cohort of “virtual patients” that well represent the inter-subject variability of all determinants that affect the disease progression and the response to therapy;
  3. develop in collaboration with the University of Sheffield a Bayesian statistical model that combines observational results from a clinical trial to the in silico-predicted response on the virtual patients cohort into an in silico-augmented clinical trial aimed to shorted the duration and the number of physical patients enrolled;
  4. validate the results of the in silico augmented trial to those of a full sized standard clinical trial, so to produce sufficient evidences to qualify the in silico method for studies of future drugs.

Under the guidance of Prof Marco Viceconti, one of the top experts of in silico trials worldwide, the post holder, a post-doctoral researcher with documented experience in modelling and simulation in biomedicine, will conduct the research activities described above in close collaboration with the model developers in Catania, the statistical modelling experts in Sheffield, and the clinical trialists in New Delhi.

The research contract (Assegno di Ricerca), has an annual salary before taxes of € 26,174.00. While the initial contract is for 12 months, if successful the post holder contract will be extended until the end of the project, in July 2022.

The ideal candidate for this position holds a PhD in math, physics, or engineering, documented experience in modelling and simulation in biomedicine, excellent spoken and written English, and one or more of the following skills:

  • Familiarity with the mathematical modelling of the immune system
  • Familiarity with Bayesian statistics and Bayesian modelling
  • Previous experience with biomedical regulatory science
  • Previous experience with verification, validation, and uncertainty quantification of predictive models in biomedicine

If you are interested apply here: https://www.aricweb.unibo.it/BandiPubblicati/zz_Bandi_din.aspx?strid=961 or contact me by email for further information.

For original post see:
https://www.unibo.it/sitoweb/marco.viceconti/avvisi/fa93fd8b

Post-doc in Development of an open source software for the multiscale orchestration @ University of Bologna

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Title: Development of an open source software for the multiscale orchestration of computational oncology simulations

Tutor: Prof Marco Viceconti – https://www.unibo.it/sitoweb/marco.viceconti/

Funding source: H2020 project PRIMAGE (SC1-PM-16-2017-826494)

To apply: https://www.aricweb.unibo.it/BandiPubblicati/zz_Bandi_din.aspx?strid=961

Deadline: 9 January 2019, 12:00 (applications must be sent by post or delivered by hand)

Research Project

In 2017 the European Commission called for proposals on the topic “In-silico trials for developing and assessing biomedical products”; one of the projects funded, PRIMAGE, which will start on December 1st, 2018, aims to develop in silico trials technologies to test the efficacy of new anti-tumour therapies. To predict the response of a new anti-cancer agent over a representative clinical population is a very complex endeavour, which requires a detailed model of the biochemical mechanism of action of the new drug on the cancer cells, another model that describe how this effect modulate the cell-to-cell and the cell-to-tissue interaction and signalling, and another model that can predict the overall growth of the tumour mass over time, its vascularisation, and its cellularity. As each of these models is defined at radically different space-time scales, their coupling is complex and involves an advanced orchestration to build a multiscale simulation.

This problem has been approached in different ways in the past by Prof Viceconti’s team and by other research groups, but all solutions so far have been not entirely satisfactory. The main problem is that the software stack to handle this orchestration becomes rapidly very large and complex (thus difficult to maintain), and strongly dependent on implementations of the models being orchestrated; as in most projects these are being developed in parallel, this create some serious difficulties.

In PRIMAGE we intend to tackle a completely different approach loosely inspired by the High Level Architecture approach standardised by IEEE Std 1516-2010, and popular especially in the context of defence research. We intend to develop a very simple and easy to maintain architecture that orchestrate the models by controlling their data flow, centralising in a database all intermediate data objects, so as to explore possible speed-up strategies based on pre-computation, interpolation, and surrogate modelling methods. The result will be an open source software tool that should make much easier for research groups around the world to design and deploy complex multiscale orchestrations, that execute efficiently and flexibly in different execution environments.

Under the guidance of Prof Marco Viceconti, one of the top experts of in silico trials and biomedical multiscale modelling worldwide, the post holder, a researcher with documented experience in software development in Python, will design and develop this orchestration framework, and use it to deploy a large scale multiscale simulation that orchestrate models developed by specialists at partners ANSYS, UNIVERSITY OF SARAGOZA, UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD, and CHEMOTARGETS, which will be tested as in silico trial solution.

The research contract (Assegno di Ricerca), has an annual salary before taxes of € 26,174.00. While the initial contract is for 12 months, if successful the post holder contract will be extended until the end of the project, in November 2022.

The ideal candidate for this position holds a degree in computer science, math, physics, or engineering, documented experience in software development in Python, good spoken and written English, and one or more of the following skills:

  • Familiarity with computational science & engineering software development
  • Familiarity with computational biomedicine software development
  • Previous experience with model orchestration and/or multiscale modelling
  • Previous experience with database software development, NoSQL databases, blockchain public ledgers, surrogate modelling, and/or machine learning
  • Previous experience with Open Source projects management

If you are interested apply here: https://www.aricweb.unibo.it/BandiPubblicati/zz_Bandi_din.aspx?strid=961 or contact me by email for further information.

For the original post see:
https://www.unibo.it/sitoweb/marco.viceconti/avvisi/4c20aa93

Communication Officer in Dissemination, communication, and community engagement on in silico medicine @ University of Bologna

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In the frame of the Strituvad project we are opening a new position for communication officer.  The position is initially for 12 months, but can be extended for additional two. The gross amount of the research contract (Assegno di Ricerca), contract is € 20.354,99 per annum. The amount is exempt of withholding tax and includes all statutory social security charges the Research Fellow is subject to.

The aim of this research contract is the creation of a community of practice around the emerging applications of the so-called in silico medicine, with particular reference to in silico trials, where modelling and simulation technologies are used for the certification of new drugs or medical devices. Under the guidance of Prof Marco Viceconti one of the top world-wide experts on in silico medicine, the researcher will create the content and manage web sites, social network accounts, e-newsletters, and online communities allowing all those interested in the topic who work in academia, industry, consulting or service firms or in regulatory agencies to exchange good practices on the use of modelling and simulation in medicine. The post is funded by the EU project STRITUVAD, which aims to develop in silico methods to reduce the cost of clinical trials for new therapies for tuberculosis in developing countries where this disease is endemic.

The ideal candidate should have:

  • A Master degree (Laurea Magistrale) or equivalent title in scientific disciplines or Communication Science
  • Excellent knowledge of English language (written and spoken)
  • Priority will be given to candidates with experience in Science Communication, dissemination of research results, networking and community building among scientists, production of press releases

If you are interested apply here: https://www.aricweb.unibo.it/BandiPubblicati/zz_Bandi_din.aspx?strid=961 or contact me by email for further information.The deadline is Thursday, January 10th, 2019 or contact me by email for further information.

For original post see:
https://www.unibo.it/sitoweb/marco.viceconti/avvisi/6dcf39bb

Call for Bids hosting ESB 2022

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The ESB is inviting proposals for the organization of its annual congress in July 2022. If you are interested in hosting and organizing ESB2022, please read the ESB 2022 Bid rules for details.

Bids should be sent to prof. David Mitton (david.mitton@ifsttar.fr), Chair of the Meetings Committee. He can also be contacted for further information.

The deadline for submitting your bid for ESB2022 is 31st March 2019.

Simpleware Software Release O-2018.12 Out

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The latest version of Simpleware software is out now. It includes many exciting new features and performance improvements. New in Version O-2018.12

  • Improved Usability
  • Better Segmentation
  • Enhanced Dataset Processing

Synopsys will be running webinars on the new release January 16, 2019, and will also be hosting workshops in the UK on January23rd,2019, and in the U.S. on February 12, 2019. For more details visit this page or contact simpleware@synopsys.com.

Two PhD Positions in Bone Multiscale Mechanics at The City College ofNew York

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The Laboratory of Bone Biomechanics headed by Dr.Alessandra Carriero in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at The CityCollege of New York, is offering two PhD Positions in the field of Bone Multiscale Mechanics and Mechanobiology.

Dr. Carriero’s research focuses on providing a comprehensiveunderstanding of bone mechanics and adaptation in healthy, aging and disease so to aid in the development of new treatment strategies for bone frailty and deformities.  Dr. Carriero’s lab uses mechanical engineering methods, material science approaches, high-resolution imaging, clinical data and biological analysis to reveal how mechanical forces influence bone growth, maintenance and function. Bone fragility is a very common but yet not well understood. Understanding the mechanisms of bone failure in frailty has potential to make a significant positive impact on the quality of life of people worldwide, while delivering economic benefits to our society.

Position 1: This research will contribute to understanding the effect of aging and disease on the composition, structure and mechanical properties of bone along its hierarchy and its impact on whole bone fracture toughness. The specific aims of this PhD project are to 1) develop novel high-resolution imaging acquisition and analysis for bone composition and structure, while simultaneously conduct fracture mechanics tests in healthy, disease and treated bone; (2) assess local bone measurements with biomarkers and compare these to the structure/compositon and mechanics of bone; (3) develop new multiscale modeling approaches to evaluate fracture resistance in brittle bones and treatments.


Position 2: This research will contribute to understanding of hearing loss in osteogenesis imperfecta (or brittle bone disease). The specific aims of this PhD project are to 1) develop novel high-resolution imaging acquisition analysis for cochlea micromechanics; (2) assess bone and soft tissue structure, composition and mechanics; (3) develop modeling approaches to evaluate cochlea mechanics in healthy, disease and treated conditions.

Both positions will be based at at The City College of New York, where the candidates will be enrolled in the Doctorate Program in Biomedical Engineering, and research will be conducted in collaboration with other instistutions in US and UK, particularly Hospital for Special Surgery, Northwestern University, Imperial College and the Diamond Light Source.

The successful candidate holds or will soon receive a Master’s or an equivalent Degree in Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, or Materials Science. A high motivation to work in a pioneering research environment at the interface between engineering, science and medicine is essential as well as the enthusiasm to work in an international and multidisciplinary team. Availability to travel and work with animals is required. Good knowledge of English (oral and written) is essential. Experience in one or more of the following is desirable: biomedical research, mechanical testing, experimental testing of bone, imaging acquisition, imaging processing, computational modeling techniques.

We look forward to receiving your application including a motivation letter, CV, university transcripts and names and contact details of three references. Applications must be submitted both via email to acarriero@ccny.cuny.edu and through our website at CCNY https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/bme/grad by January 15. For international students, GRE and/or TOEFL can be submitted by March 1 2019. While there is no minimum score for the GRE and/or TOEFL, it is however expected that the scores demonstrate aptitute for graduate research. The positions are available immediately and will last until filled.

For further information about the positions, please contact Dr. Alessandra Carriero at acarriero@ccny.cuny.edu.

PhD opportunity in respiratory biomechanics in Sheffield

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PhD opportunity in respiratory biomechanics in collaboration with industry and the UK National Health Service. Supervisors: Dr Alberto Marzo and Prof Jim Wild at the University of Sheffield, United Kingdom. Deadline: 15 Jan 2019.

Asthma is a chronic disease that affects 5.4M sufferers in the UK alone. Control of the disease can be achieved by administrating drugs (bronchodilators) using pressurised Metered Dose inhalers, often enhanced by the combined use of asthma spacer devices. These devices are mostly effective in children but their design is old, cumbersome and difficult to use, which leads to a low treatment intake with increased risk of serious complications.

Using modelling and experimental approaches, the project will investigate the link between spacer design, patient-specific respiratory system anatomy, and drug delivery. The aim is to ultimately develop a computational framework for the identification of effective and personalised devices that are easy to use, portable, discrete, attractive to the younger population, cost effective, easy to manufacture, disposable and with low environmental impact.

The project is in collaboration with ELAROS (NHS spin-off company), the Sheffield Pulmonary Vascular Disease Unit (national NHS referral centre for Clinical Pulmonary Imaging) and the Sheffield Children’s Hospital.

Supporting figure for PhD project description

Figure 1. CFD analysis of drug particles distribution in a typical asthma spacer (left). Comparison of CFD vs MRI data in central airways (right).

Applicants for the post must have (or be expected to attain) a first-class or upper second class degree in an engineering discipline. An aerospace/mechanical engineering background would be an advantage, as would experience of computational fluid dynamics, aerodynamics, or image-based computer modelling.

Please note, this position is only open to UK and EU citizens with 3 or more years residency.

This studentship covers the cost of tuition fees and provides an annual tax-free stipend at the standard UK research rate (£14,777 in 2018/19).

For further information about this project please contact Dr Alberto Marzo.

To apply please use our standard on-line PhD application form and indicate on your form that you are replying to this advert or email me-pgadmit@sheffield.ac.uk for further guidance on applying.

Closing date: 15th January 2019

More info at:

https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/mecheng/phd/phd-studentships/improving-design-medical-devices-asthmatic