Are you looking forward to applying your scientific skills to a challenging, interdisciplinary team project? Are you keen on working at the crossroads between medical imaging, radiation therapy and contrast agents synthesis? Then this job might be the perfect fit for you.
1. You have a master’s degree in physics, engineering, or chemistry
2. You have fluent written and oral English language skills
3. You have good interpersonal, oral and written communication skills.
4. You are enthusiastic, result-oriented and can work independently
5. You have some laboratory experience/are enthusiastic about working in the lab
6. You have good programming skills in Matlab or Python
7. You are willing to conduct work both at the KU Leuven campus Gasthuisberg and at campus KULAK (a 50-50 appointment is foreseen but we can be flexible on the work organization)
8. Previous experience with ultrasound imaging and its applications, ultrasound contrast agents and/or knowledge about radiotherapy/medical physics is a plus.
Radiotherapy is a powerful weapon against cancer, able to benefit approximately 50% of the cancer patients. External beam radiotherapy uses ionizing radiation to damage cancer cells, eventually leading to tumour eradication. However, the radiation beam also harms healthy cells in its path, leading to undesired side-effects. Hence, the success of radiotherapy critically depends on accurate treatment verification to maximize the radiation dose inside the tumour and minimize healthy tissue exposure. Unfortunately, treatment verification solutions are currently limited. Therefore, our group is developing a novel, non-invasive solution based on radiosensitive nanodroplets and ultrasound imaging. The nanodroplets are injected in the bloodstream, through which they reach the tumour, where they vaporize into echogenic microbubbles when exposed to the radiotherapy beam. The associated phase transition generates a strong ultrasound contrast, allowing to derive the radiation dose distribution from the acquired ultrasound images. In addition, this phase-change behaviour can be exploited for therapeutic applications such as concurrent drug or oxygen delivery, casting the nanodroplets as a versatile theranostic platform.So far, we successfully demonstrated this technology for proton therapy, an advanced, but rather rare form of radiotherapy. To make the technology available for conventional radiotherapy treatments we need alternative nanodroplet formulations. Therefore, in this project we aim to develop and validate a nanodroplet formulation sensitive to radiotherapy photons, thus enabling treatment verification and theranostic applications for the most widely used form of radiotherapy. We will characterize the nanodroplets stability and safety in vitro and in vivo, study their acoustic properties, and demonstrate their sensitivity to photon radiotherapy beams in phantoms, followed by studies in small animal models (healthy and tumour bearing).As a PhD researcher, you will be involved in the nanodroplet synthesis and the characterization of their response to ultrasound and radiation (in vitro, using gel phantoms). In addition, you will develop ultrasound imaging strategies to quantify the nanodroplet radiation response. You will work in collaboration with a postdoctoral researcher focusing on the nanodroplet biocompatibility and radiation response in vivo (at KU Leuven), and a postdoctoral researcher specialized in nanodroplet synthesis and advanced ultrasound imaging techniques (at Imperial College London). You will be appointed both at the KU Leuven Kulak in Kortrijk, Belgium (for the nanodroplet synthesis part) and at KU Leuven campus Gasthuisberg in Leuven, Belgium (for the ultrasound imaging and radiation response assessment part). In addition to the PhD work, you will also be involved in supporting education for Bachelor courses at the KU Leuven Kulak campus in Kortrijk.We are looking for a PhD researcher to perform innovative research on the design and use of ultrasound contrast agents for theranostic applications in radiotherapy, leading to a doctoral degree. This project is a joint collaboration between the Wave Propagation and Signal Processing Group (KU Leuven campus Kulak, Belgium), the Cardiovascular Imaging & Dynamics Laboratory (KU Leuven, located within UZ Leuven Gasthuisberg, Belgium), and the Ultrasound Laboratory for Imaging and Sensing at Imperial College London (UK). Funding is available for a duration of 4 years.We offer
9. A full-time PhD position for 1 year, extendable to 4 years after positive evaluation, with market conform wages
10. Guidance and inclusion in two young, dynamic and multidisciplinary teams: the Wave Propagation and Signal Processing group at KU Leuven Kulak and the Cardiovascular Imaging & Dynamics group at KU Leuven campus Gasthuisberg.
11. An international experience in a world-class laboratory (ULIS) at Imperial College London, as multiple working visits are planned during the project. If the candidate is interested, there is a possibility to set up a joint doctorate between KU Leuven and Imperial College London.
12. State of the art research infrastructure
13. High-level training at two top-ranked universities
The position is immediately available.