PhD in the field of functional urology

As a PhD student, you will engage in scientific research in the field of functional urology. In April 2022, you will be introduced to the research line, partly by the current PhD students. The focus of the research line is to improve the care for patients with urinary incontinence and urinary retention. Your tasks consist of recruiting test subjects, performing functional MRI experiments and analyzing this data. The project in question is a collaboration with the Urology department of Maastricht UMC and the Spinoza Center for Neuroimaging in Amsterdam. Your activities include: coordinating and including test subjects, analyzing and publishing the data. It is the intention that by the end of your contract you have already published or submitted the necessary publications for a dissertation.

Much is still unknown about the control of the bladder and pelvic floor by the brain and spinal cord. Functional MRI scanners have improved in recent decades. For example, there are now scanners with a high field strength. This makes it possible to create high-resolution images of brain activity in order to determine more accurately which brain regions play a role in certain processes. This project looks at how the bladder and pelvic floor are controlled by the brain and spinal cord. Part of the project is carried out with healthy subjects and another part with patients with an overactive bladder. The aim is to determine central biomarkers important for the functioning of the bladder and pelvic floor. The changes in brain activity that are present during dysfunction, such as overactive bladder, and during treatment are also aspects that will be unraveled in this project.