PhD position in cardiac MRI for radiotherapy

Background

Radiotherapy is increasingly used to treat lesions in the vicinity of the heart, or even in the heart itself. Confusingly, while the heart can be the target site for treatment, it is also sensitive to radiation-induced side-effects. High-fidelity anatomical and functional cardiac MRI is thus needed at the time of treatment to irradiate the lesion with high precision. A new generation of hybrid MRI + radiotherapy linear accelerator (MR-linac) devices has made instantaneous MRI-guidance during radiation delivery a clinical reality at UMC Utrecht. However, the additional dynamic complexity and frequency of cardiac motion and function is still largely ignored in radiotherapy due to a lack of MRI sequences suitable for cardiac imaging on the MR-linac.

Project and role description

This vacancy is part of the MEGAHERTZ (MRI-Enhanced and Guided Adaptive HEart RadioTherapy) project, which is funded by NWO and co-funded by industrial partners through the open technology programme. The aim of MEGAHERTZ is to combine cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging with MRI-guided adaptive radiotherapy to dramatically improve cardiac radiotherapy. You will first develop MRI sequences for the MR-linac for a range of cardiac imaging applications including visualisation and quantification of the cardiorespiratory motion and quantitative mapping of tissue properties (i.e., parametric mapping). You will then test all newly developed sequences in novel phantoms, volunteers, and patients.

You will be working at the internationally renowned Center for Image Sciences at the UMC Utrecht, within the Radiotherapy department. In this project, you will collaborate with a multi-disciplinary team of image scientists, computer scientists, (medical) physicists, radiologists, and radiation oncologists.

More information:

• Compimag
• ECP Utrecht

• You have obtained your master’s degree in physics, computer science, biomedical engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• You enjoy experimental work.
• You have hands-on experience in MRI sequence development, and/or compatible programming skills (C++/C#).
• Proficiency in English is mandatory.
• The ability to work comfortably in an interdisciplinary environment including industrial partners is a strong plus.

The position is open immediately and we offer the following:

• A full-time position (36 hours per week) in a very stimulating and interactive research environment.
• A temporary appointment for a maximum of 4 years.
• Gross compensation will be according to standard salary levels for PhD candidates and will include a holiday allowance and an end-of-year bonus.
• The UMC Utrecht operates according to the collective labor agreement ‘CAO ziekenhuizen’.

You can apply for this position by reacting to this vacancy and providing:

• an up-to-date CV + course list + grade report.
• a motivation letter (1 page) describing your background and interests as relevant to the vacancy