The Department of Biomechanical Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering Technology (ET) at the human-tech-oriented University of Twente is seeking a hardworking PhD candidate to join them for a full-time Position in Experimental Human Tissue Machining Properties.
Mechanical, optical, electric and heat material properties of engineered materials are widely available in databases. Efforts are performed to generate similar values for human tissues because they play a meaningful role in studying human pathologies and the development of so-called virtual twin models representing the human body. Unfortunately, up till now, there is a gap in values of human tissue properties related to ‘machining’, being it cutting and sawing or electrocautery, or newer methods. Knowledge of the properties is crucial in medical device development, and tissue preparation for implant placement and contributes to minimizing the need for animal experiments. Moreover, these properties vary among humans and even per location in the body, so they require an effort to express them as dimensionless values independent of the chosen machines and measurement systems.
However, as part of the University of Twente’s strategy to increase the proportion of women among its faculty and to create a working environment that is diverse and inclusive, and supportive of excellence in research and teaching Non-male applicants are explicitly asked to apply for this position.
Starting Date: No later than Feb 1, 2023.
Duration: A full-time 4-year PhD position
Tasks
For the PhD Position in Experimental Human Tissue Machining Properties, the candidate will:
- Develop experimental setups and standardized protocols for measuring the machining properties of a wide variety of human tissues.
- Measure selected sets of these properties and develop methods for dimensionless expression.
- Relate the ex vivo properties to in vivo measurements during surgery as part of the validation. The ambition is to make all data open source available, preferably by teaming up with non-profit organizations that already offer tissue properties.
Salary
- Excellent mentorship and a stimulating international research environment with excellent facilities;
- A professional and personal development program within Graduate School Twente;
- A starting salary of € 2.541,- gross per month in the first year and a salary of € 3.247,- in the fourth year gross per month;
- A holiday allowance of 8% of the gross annual salary and a year-end bonus of 8.3%;
- A solid pension scheme;
- Minimum of 29 holidays per year in case of full-time employment.
Job Requirements
Applicants who meet the following requirements are welcome to apply for PhD Position in Experimental Human Tissue Machining Properties:
- a master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Engineering, or equivalent.
- experimental skills in tissues e.g. material characterization, cadaver testing, or design of experimental setups to study tissue properties.
- experience numerical with computing environments like Matlab or Python to process datasets automatically.
- high-level analytical, and organizational skills.
- motivated to establish a sustainable open source character of the database by generating awareness using your good interpersonal skills.
- fluent in English, both spoken and written.
Application Process
Applications for this position should include the following documents:
- Curriculum Vitae
- Motivation (cover) letter with contact information of 2 references
- Grades of the BSc and MSc courses
- IELTS or TOEFL score (if applicable)
To apply, click here.
Application Deadline: November 16, 2022.
For more information on PhD Position in Experimental Human Tissue Machining Properties, visit the official site.
