PhD Position Personalized Musculoskeletal Modeling to Estimate Tissue Loads in Patients with Osteoarthritis

We are seeking a PhD researcher for a 4-year contract to develop a pipeline that combines patient-specific imaging, motion-capture and musculoskeletal modeling to estimate knee loads during common physical activities such as sit-to-standing, walking, running, and cycling.

You will be part of a multidisciplinary and multi-lab team and supervised by Drs. Ajay Seth and Nazli Tümer and Prof. Amir Zadpoor within the Department of Biomechanical Engineering at TU Delft and working closely with members of the MOBI Lab at Erasmus MC supervised by Prof. Jaap Harlaar. This position is supported by the The LoaD project: Healthy Loading to combat osteoarthritis, which is led by professor Gerjo van Osch, MD, at Erasmus MC and funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO).

There are many opportunities for you to grow your academic career through coursework, mentoring BSc/MSc Students, consortia participation, conference presentations, workshops, and teaching.

Diversity and Inclusion:

The TU Delft Faculty of Mechanical Engineering is committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion. If you have a unique story that motivates you or drives your curiosity we would be delighted to here it. We especially encourage applicants from underrepresented groups in science, technology and engineering .

TU Delft values a safe, inclusive and diverse work environment. To reinforce that, we have committed ourselves to the joint Statement Social Safety of the Association of Universities in the Netherlands and the National Action Plan for Diversity and Inclusion. We participate in a Social Safety Programme.

Doing a PhD at TU Delft requires English proficiency at a certain level to ensure that the candidate is able to communicate and interact well, participate in English-taught Doctoral Education courses, and write scientific articles and a final thesis. For more details please check the Graduate Schools Admission Requirements.

You should have:

• MSc in engineering or similar discipline by the start date of the position (February 2024)
• Proven knowledge of solution methods for studying multibody system dynamics
• Experience with scientific programming (e.g., in C++, Python, Java, Matlab, etc.)
• Experience collecting experimental data (human or machine motion,, video, or similar)
• Knowledge or interest in tissue biomechanics and application of finite-element analysis
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English

The following aspects will help you stand out:

• Thriving in multidisciplinary environments
• Self-motivated and driven
• Curiosity-driven working attitude
• Experience with finite element analysis
• Knowledge of biomechanical modeling, motion capture, and computer aided design
• Experience with medical image analysis, segmentation and reconstructing 3D geometry

Keep in mind that this describes the background we imagine would best fit the role. Even if you do not meet all the requirements and feel that you are up for the task, we absolutely want to see your application! The PhD process is a learning experience.

Doing a PhD at TU Delft requires English proficiency at a certain level to ensure that the candidate is able to communicate and interact well, participate in English-taught Doctoral Education courses, and write scientific articles and a final thesis. For more details please check the Graduate Schools Admission Requirements .

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1,5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months. Followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2,5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from € 2770 per month in the first year to € 3539 in the fourth year. As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills.

The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged.

For international applicants, TU Delft has the Coming to Delft Service . This service provides information for new international employees to help you prepare the relocation and to settle in the Netherlands. The Coming to Delft Service offers a Dual Career Programme  for partners and they organise events to expand your (social) network.

Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core values  and we actively engage  to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.

Challenge. Change. Impact!

From chip to ship. From machine to human being. From idea to solution. Driven by a deep-rooted desire to understand our environment and discover its underlying mechanisms, research and education at the 3mE faculty focusses on fundamental understanding, design, production including application and product improvement, materials, processes and (mechanical) systems.

3mE is a dynamic and innovative faculty with high-tech lab facilities and international reach. It’s a large faculty but also versatile, so we can often make unique connections by combining different disciplines. This is reflected in 3mE’s outstanding, state-of-the-art education, which trains students to become responsible and socially engaged engineers and scientists. We translate our knowledge and insights into solutions to societal issues, contributing to a sustainable society and to the development of prosperity and well-being. That is what unites us in pioneering research, inspiring education and (inter)national cooperation.

Click here  to go to the website of the Faculty of Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering. Do you want to experience working at our faculty? These videos  will introduce you to some of our researchers and their work.

For more information about this vacancy, please contact Ajay Seth ([email protected]) or Nazli Tümer ([email protected]).

For information about the selection procedure, please contact Laura de Heiden, HR Advisor, email: [email protected].

Are you interested in this vacancy? Please apply by January 16th , 2024 via the application button and upload your:

• Motivation and CV.
• Abstract of your MSc thesis
• Contact information for up to 3 references
• Official grade transcripts from B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees

A pre-employment screening can be part of the selection procedure.

You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post.

Please do not contact us for unsolicited services.