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4-year PhD studentship: Harmonisation & quantification of PET imaging for lung diseases
Now Closed
2 April 2019
This project aims to develop a lung test-object deformable phantom with tissue mimicking materials to validate recently developed methods for improved quantification of diseased lung tissue with Positron Emission Tomography and Computed Tomography (PET/CT), and assess the accuracy and reproducibility of lung PET imaging in a multi-centre clinical setting. This work is part of an international ‘PET in lung disease collaboration initiative’.
The PhD studentship is EPSRC Industrial CASE funded with industrial support from National Physical Laboratory in the UK and additional input from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). The funding covers an annual stipend (at least £17,280) and tuition fees at the rate for UK/EU nationals for 4 years.
The student will be part of the UCL EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Intelligent, Integrated Imaging In Healthcare (i4health).
Project
About 10,000 people are diagnosed with a lung disease every week, with one death from the condition every 5 minutes in the UK, accounting for 20.1% of deaths in 2012. Non-invasive molecular imaging techniques such as PET/CT provide functional and structural information used to develop novel imaging biomarkers that can play an important role in diagnosing lung abnormalities and assessing disease progression and treatment response. However, accurate quantification of radiopharmaceutical uptake from lung PET/CT data is challenging. The proposed lung test-object deformable phantom will be used to validate advanced methods for improving quantification.
The project will involve design using CAD software, Monte Carlo simulations, experimental measurements including movement, data analysis, contributing to international conferences and journals.
Requirements
Candidates must meet the UCL graduate entry requirements which include holding at least an upper second class degree or equivalent qualifications, in a relevant subject area such as physics, biomedical engineering or applied mathematics. A Master’s degree in a relevant discipline and additional research experience would be an advantage.
EPSRC has restrictions on eligibility, for instance related to residency within the UK, see https://epsrc.ukri.org/skills/students/help/eligibility/.
Application
Informal enquiries can be addressed to Prof. Thielemans (k.thielemans@ucl.ac.uk). For a formal application, please e-mail k.thielemans@ucl.ac.uka covering letter outlining your motivation for the position and two referees, your CV and evidence of courses and grades achieved. Shortlisted candidates will be required to provide transcripts of previous degrees. Please use subject header “PhD UCL-NPL-GSK”.
Application closing date: 23 April 2019.
Expected start date: October 2019, but this can be discussed.
Further information
More information on this studentship is available at https://www.ucl.ac.uk/nuclear-medicine/vacancies
UCL Institute of Nuclear Medicine:https://www.ucl.ac.uk/nuclear-medicine
UCL Graduate Prospectus: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/graduate/
NPL: https://www.npl.co.uk/medical-physics
GSK R&D: https://www.gsk.com/en-gb/research/