PhD in Biomedical Engineering

The Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) is seeking a talented PhD candidate to develop an experimentally-informed and validated computational model of the role of mechanics in new blood vessel formation (angiogenesis). The computational model is expected to enable the design of new strategies to control angiogenesis, which will have wide implications in the fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

Sprouting angiogenesis is the biological process leading to the formation of new blood vessels from pre-existing ones. Controlling angiogenesis is crucial for the treatment of several angiogenesis-related diseases, such as cancer, and the creation of functional tissue-engineered tissues. Unfortunately, translation of biological findings to applied settings has been hindered by unexpected in vivo responses to treatments. This highlights the complexity of angiogenesis, which responds to stimuli depending on small variations in the cell environment. Computational models can elucidate the influence of different environmental factors and, due to their predictive potential, can be adopted to design and optimize strategies to control angiogenesis. Mechanics is a key factor of the cell environment. Despite this, a computational model integrating the influence of mechanics on the cell-cell signals governing angiogenesis is not present yet. In this project, we intend to overcome this limitation, thereby enabling the design of new strategies to control angiogenesis accounting for the mechanical properties of the cell environment.

Doctoral research will be performed within the Soft Tissue Engineering and Mechanobiology (STEM) group, in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, under the supervision of
Dr. Tommaso Ristori and Prof. Carlijn Bouten. The strongly multidisciplinary research of the STEM group is directed at the understanding and control of the cell and tissue behavior for regenerative medicine purposes.

The PhD opening is part of the ICMS Immuno-Engineering program. As a successful candidate, you will have the opportunity to collaborate and interact with a very multidisciplinary group of PhD students and postdocs within the program. You will also work within the recently founded Research Cluster in Regenerative Engineering and Materials (REM), in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. REM will provide access to top-notch computational and experimental infrastructure and excellent expertise, to perform research at the interface between tissue engineering and computational modeling. Finally, you will also have access to a wide range of personal development courses for PhD students.