PhD student Advanced Diffusion MRI for Pediatric Oncology

Rhabdomyosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma are aggressive tumours in children, where early prediction of treatment response is essential for timely therapy adjustments. Currently, such early markers are lacking.

In this PhD project, you will develop and evaluate a novel diffusion MRI acquisition and tissue model that is sensitive to tumor microstructure and early treatment response in Rhabdomyosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma. Your work will span the full translational pipeline:

• Develop a novel dMRI acquisition and tissue model in tumor organoids to probe fundamental microstructural properties with a unique 28.8T NMR scanner.
• Translate and optimizate the new acquisition and model to clinical MRI scanners.
• Implement acceleration strategies to make the acquisition suitable for clinical use.
• Proof-of-concept evaluation in pediatric patients with Ewing sarcoma and rhabdomyosarcoma.

This is a highly interdisciplinary and translational project that combines advanced MR physics, image analysis, and clinical application, in close collaboration between the UMC Utrecht Imaging Division and the Princess Máxima Center.

This research will be conducted at the Image Sciences Institute, housed within the Imaging and Oncology Division of the University Medical Center Utrecht. The division is internationally recognized for its research on image acquisition, image analysis, artificial intelligence, and image-guided interventions, and has one of the largest concentrations of medical imaging researchers in Europe. The research will be carried out in close collaboration with the Princess Maxima Centrum, which is the largest pediatric oncology specialistic hospital in Europe. For more information, visit www.isi.uu.nl and www.imago.uu.nl.

• You hold (or are about to obtain) a Master’s degree in physics, mathematics, biomedical engineering, computer science, or a related technical field.
• You have a strong interest in MRI physics, signal modeling, or medical image analysis.
• You enjoy working in an interdisciplinary environment, bridging engineering and clinical application.
• You have programming experience (e.g., Python, MATLAB, or similar).
• You are motivated, collaborative and communicative.

• A salary between € 3108 and € 3939 gross per month (salary scale OIO's), based on full-time employment.
• A position for the duration of 4 years.
• Year-end bonus of 8.3% and holiday allowance of 8%.
• Pension insurance with ABP. We take care of approximately 70% of the monthly contribution.
• 100% public transport reimbursement. Are you coming on foot, by bike or by car? You will then receive a reimbursement of € 0.18 per km (by car up to a max. of 40 km one way).
• Possibilities to develop yourself personally and professionally.
• The option to select additional employment benefits in exchange for gross salary, such as purchasing a bicycle and memberships.