PhD in gadolinium-based brain MRI

The TKI-funded SECURO project is a collaboration between Amsterdam UMC and Danish Start-up Cerebriu. Together we hope to develop a software that can reliably create either AI-enhanced or even fully synthetic post-contrast brain MR images. For this purpose, we have four years of funding time starting this spring. There is already an algorithm prototype, but we will create additional data to improve it, and test different models under the sharp eyes of human experts. We will also initiate a first-time trial to use synthetic MR-weightings, generated from the MR-Stat MRI sequence, to create synthetic post-contrast images with the new tool.

Would you like to know more about the different phases within the PhD trajectory? You can read more about this on this page.

We are looking for a new PhD researcher at our Amsterdam UMC site to closely collaborate with another computer scientist PhD student working locally at Cerebriu in Copenhagen. This is what the position will look like:

• You will recruit about 200 mainly Dutch-speaking patients for the prospective part of the study.
• You will export, organize, label and quality-assess large sets of different MRI data. It may be necessary to learn scanning independently or to support MR technician staff
• You will analyze the outputs of the jointly developed software, publish scientific articles on the results, and provide feedback for improving the software. 
• You will be trained in assessing brain MRI pathologies to be able to sort data or even rate data yourself in terms of clinical and visibility aspects. 
• The focus of your scientific work will be on the human-perceived quality of the synthetic, AI-augmented data. This involves analyses such as lesion visibility, technology acceptance and work flow time efficiency.
• Beyond the pure science, there is also administration involving the organization of colloquiums, meetings and presentations.

• It is mandatory that you speak sufficient Dutch to safely recruit patients for the study. For that reason, you also need a medical background (or associated).
• You have basic programming skills, solid statistical skills, and experience with using brain image processing software, or you are willing to acquire those early in the PhD program.
• The same applies to skills in using brain image processing software, which are either brought in or must be developed.
• Ideally, you are therefore a medical doctor with a keen technical interest, or a medical technologist with a heart for clinical imaging.
• You consider yourself an independent team player, eager learner and emotionally balanced person.
• We are searching for a well-organized also English-speaking person as this project involves large amounts of data and coordinating efforts at three sites (Amsterdam UMC, Copenhagen and Utrecht). You should feel socially confident to converse with research partners of different backgrounds as well as patients.