PhD position Computational modelling of vascular calcification

Vascular calcification – the deposition of calcium into the arterial walls - has been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events and impairments such as myocardial infarct, stroke, cognitive decline and dementia. However, the biomechanical mechanisms involved in vascular calcification and how vascular calcifications trigger the clinical events are poorly understood. This PhD project aims at developing computational models (computational fluid dynamics and finite element models) to unravel these mechanisms and the link to the clinical events. The models to be developed in the project will be informed by the existing in-vitro experimental and in-vivo patient imaging data and will be used to study the complex haemodynamic phenomena involved. The work will contribute to an improved clinical and scientific understanding of vascular calcification and the link to the associated clinical events, potentially opening new streams for disease prevention, early diagnostic, and improved interventions.

The PhD candidate will be jointly supervised by dr. ir. Ali Akyildiz and dr. ir. Selene Pirola at the Department of Biomechanical Engineering, Delft University of Technology, both experts in cardiovascular biomechanics. Within this project, the PhD candidate is expected to operate within a multidisciplinary team of engineers, biomedical scientists, and clinicians (cardiologists, radiologists, neurologists) from Delft University of Technology and Erasmus Medical Centre (Rotterdam). The outcomes of this project will be disseminated to the scientific community and to a general audience through presentations at (inter) national conferences and through publications in peer-reviewed journals. Additionally, the candidate is expected to take part in educational activities within the department (assist in teaching, act as a mentor for master students, supervise master thesis work, … ).

The Department of BioMechanical Engineering coordinates the Education and Research activities in the field of Mechanical Engineering techniques, like modeling and design, to analyze the interaction between biological and technical systems.

Keywords: biomechanics, haemodynamics, vascular calcification (deposition, growth, link to clinical events), arteriosclerosis, computational modelling, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), fluid-structure interaction (FSI), finite element modelling (FEM).