Last update: September 7, 2009.

Vacant Research Positions

Postdoctoral Research Assistant

University College London

We are seeking to employ a full-time postdoctoral Medical Physicist/Engineer for 1 year to work in our Brain Injury Research Group. The Brain Injury Research Group (BIRG) is an internationally recognised, multidisciplinary collaboration between the Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN), University College London Hospitals and the Near Infrared Spectroscopy Group, Department of Medical Physics and Bioengineering, University College London (UCL). Our research is focused on development and clinical application of novel methods for investigating cerebral haemodynamics, oxygenation and metabolism and informing the clinical management of brain injury. We are currently undertaking a range of studies in healthy volunteers and brain injured patients and require a Medical Physicist/Engineer to manage and develop the multimodal monitoring, signal processing and data analysis components of the project. The successful applicant will be based in the Department of Medical Physics and Bioengineering, UCL but will work very closely with clinicians on the Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit at NHNN, and in particular with a MRC funded Clinical Research fellow responsible for studies in volunteers and patients. The Near Infrared Spectroscopy group, led by Professor Clare Elwell is part of the Biomedical Optics Research Laboratory which is the largest medical optics laboratory in Europe. We have an international reputation for the development and clinical implementation of a number of novel optical techniques for measurements of cerebral oxygenation and haemodynamics. The Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit at the NHNN is a state-of-the-art critical care unit with facilities for invasive brain monitoring available at every bed. The clinical research team, led by Dr. Martin Smith, is affiliated with the Anaesthesia and Critical Care theme of the UCLH Comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre and the Department of Brain Repair and Rehabilitation (BRR) Research Department at the UCL Institute of Neurology. The role of the researcher will be to manage and develop hardware and software for the multimodal monitoring of patients and healthy volunteers. This will include systems interfacing, signal processing and data analysis of complex data sets. A good working knowledge of Matlab is required and the ability and motivation to work as part of a multidisciplinary team and within a clinical environment is essential. Applicants should have a good honours degree in Medical Physics, Medical Engineering or a related discipline, a PhD degree in a relevant area, or comparable research experience (if the PhD has not yet been granted, the final accepted version of the dissertation should have been submitted to the degree granting university by the time of starting). The post is available immediately and will be funded for one year in the first instance with salary on UCL Grade 7 in the range £31,620 - £38,250 per annum inclusive of London Weighting, superannuable. Informal enquiries welcome to Dr. Martin Smith or Prof. Clare Elwell.

PhD Studentships in Photonics System Development

University College London and Cambridge University

The closing date for applications is Thursday April 30 2009

The Biomedical Optics Research Laboratory is part of a Doctoral Training Centre in Photonics Systems Development, which has PhD studentships available for candidates from the UK and EU, starting in September 2009. Click here for more details. Candidates with a specific interest in biomedical optics are invited to express their interest in their personal statement on the pre-application form. The deadline for submission is April 30, 2009.

PhD Studentship in the development of an acousto-optic technique for clinical monitoring

Biomedical Optics Research Laboratory, Department of Medical Physics and Bioengineering, University College London

The closing date for applications is Tuesday, 31st March 2009

A 3 year EPSRC funded Studentship is available to develop an acousto-optic technique for clinical monitoring. The technique is based upon “tagging” near-infrared light in deep tissue with focused ultrasound, and thus providing highly localised blood oxygenation and flow measurements. This is an emerging new technique promised to improve the accuracy of the measurements significantly over the existing “all optical” techniques. The potential applications include clinical monitoring in neurology and cardiology. The project will involve the study of interactions between light and sound, and can in general be divided into two main parts: (i) mathematical/computational modelling, and (ii) experimental investigation. The research will be conducted in the world renowned Biomedical Optics Research Laboratory at UCL which over the past 20 years has led the development of new optical and photoacoustic monitoring instruments and techniques for medical applications. We invite applications from well motivated individuals who have, or are expected to have, at least a good honours degree (or higher, such as an MSc) in Physics, Engineering, Computer Science or a related discipline and an interest in the biomedical sciences. Alternatively applicants with a background in the clinical and/or life sciences with a strong interest and at least some experience in experimental physics/engineering may be suitable. In both cases, applications are welcome from those with relevant industrial experience seeking to return to an academic research environment. Successful candidate can start immediately. The studentship will attract a stipend of approximately £15,000 pa and will be open to applicants of all nationalities. However, only UK/EU citizens will receive full tuition fees support. Citizens of other nationalities will have the UK fees paid from the grant, but will need to seek their own funding for the difference between UK and Overseas fees. Requests for further information and applications (including a covering letter, CV and names of 2 referees) should be sent to Dr. Terence Leung at tsl@medphys.ucl.ac.uk. Further information on the research area and the activities of the Biomedical Optical Research Laboratory can be found by clicking here. UCL Taking Action For Equality.

Three PhD Studentships in Biomedical Photoacoustic Imaging and Optical Ultrasound Detection

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON
PHOTOACOUSTIC IMAGING GROUP
DEPARTMENT OF MEDICAL PHYSICS AND BIOENGINEERING

Applications are invited for three PhD studentships in biomedical photoacoustic imaging and optical ultrasound detection in the Photoacoustic Imaging Group, part of the Biomedical Optics Research Laboratory in the Department of Medical Physics and Bioengineering at University College London.

The Group's research is directed towards the development of biomedical photoacoustic imaging. This is a promising new imaging modality based upon the use of laser-generated ultrasound waves for visualising the internal structure and function of soft tissues. Potential applications include the clinical assessment of breast cancer, vascular disease and skin abnormalities. The technique also has application as a research tool in the basic life sciences for the pre-clinical development of new treatments for cancer and other diseases. Our research also includes the development of a novel optical ultrasound sensor for characterising medical and industrial ultrasound fields.

The studentships will cover different topics in photoacoustic imaging and ultrasound detection. The closing date for applications is 17 October 2008. Further details on each project can be found by following the links below, or by contacting Dr Paul Beard, pbeard@medphys.ucl.ac.uk, or Dr Ben Cox, bencox@mpb.ucl.ac.uk.

Three year EPSRC PhD Studentship in Biomedical Photoacoustic Image Reconstruction: Ref. PS3
http://www.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/research/mle/jobs/job1.htm
The aim of this project is to investigate the novel idea of using acoustic reverberation (ultrasonic reflections) both to reduce the cost and to increase the speed of photoacoustic imaging. The research will involve a balance of experimental and numerical/theoretical work.

Four year EPSRC PhD Studentship: Photoacoustic Imaging of Cancer: Ref. PS4
http://www.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/research/mle/jobs/job2.htm
This project will involve working at the physics/life science interface on the development and application of a new biomedical imaging modality, photoacoustic imaging, for pre-clinical cancer studies. The research will be multidisciplinary encompassing optical and acoustic instrumentation development, computational work and the in vivo application of the technique. Although applicants are most likely to have a physics/engineering degree, candidates with a background in the clinical or life sciences with some practical physics or biomedical imaging experience may also be considered.

Three year Industrial CASE PhD Studentship in Fibre-Optic Ultrasound Detection: Ref. PS5
http://www.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/research/mle/jobs/job3.htm
The aim of this project to advance the development of a novel fibre-optic interferometric ultrasound sensor for medical and industrial ultrasound measurement applications. The project, to be undertaken in collaboration with Precision Acoustics Ltd, will involve developing optoelectronic instrumentation, numerical modelling and experimental acoustic and optical characterisation studies.