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| == We are hiring! Two postdoctoral positions available == | | == Opportunities in the Developmental Biomechanics Group == |
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| | We are keen to welcome excellent prospective postdoctoral researchers, and MRes and PhD students to the Developmental Biomechanics group. A range of competitive funding opportunities for talented early career researchers are available at Imperial College and in the UK, including schemes aimed at PhD students and at postdoctoral researchers. If you are interested in applying for a studentship or fellowship, please email [mailto:n.nowlan@imperial.ac.uk Dr Nowlan] in the first instance with your CV. |
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| *The first position will explore how mechanical forces due to fetal movements affect and direct the emergence of joint shape, with particular emphasis on multi-scale (cell-tissue-organ level) analysis. The project will be highly interdisciplinary and will combine computational simulation with lab-based experimental work. You should hold a PhD in the field of Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or a related field, and should have previous research experience in the field of musculoskeletal biomechanics, and with both experimental and computational research methods, in particular finite element analysis, Matlab, histology and immunohistochemistry. Access the ad and details on how to apply [http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/AOE524/research-associate-mechanobiological-modelling-of-joint-shape-development/ here] and download the job description and personal specification [[Media:EN20160250FH_JD.doc|here]]. Closing date for applications is the 18th of August.
| | For information on postdoctoral fellowships including Marie Curie and Imperial College Research Fellowships, please see [http://www.imperial.ac.uk/postdoc-development-centre/fellowships/early-career-fellowships/ here] |
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| *The second position will involve an exciting exploration of the effects of fetal movements on development of the prenatal spine, and will be primarily experimentally based. To apply for this position, you should hold a PhD in the field of Biomedical Engineering, Developmental Biology or a related field, and should have previous research experience in the murine developmental model system, the musculoskeletal system, histology and immunohistochemistry. Access the ad and details on how to apply [http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/AOE999/research-associate-developmental-biomechanics-of-the-spine/ here] and download the job description and personal specification [[Media:EN20160255FH_JD.doc|here]]. Closing date for applications is the 21st of August.
| | For further details on PhD funding opportunities, please see [http://www.imperial.ac.uk/bioengineering/study/postgraduate-research/phd/ here] |
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| | | <<Update February 2017: Note that most PhD funding schemes for 2017-18 entry are now closed>> |
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| == MRes/PhD Opportunities for October 2017 ==
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| Opportunities are available in the Developmental Biomechanics group for enthusiastic MRes and PhD students. The research focus of the group is the importance of fetal movements for skeletal development. When a baby doesn’t move enough in the womb, their bones and joints may not form normally, and our research aims to find out why and how this can occur. Both experimental and computational projects are available, and researchers from either a biology (e.g., developmental biology, physiology, genetics) or engineering background are welcome- we are an interdisciplinary group!
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| If you are interested in pursuing a research project in our group then please email [[Nowlan:Contact|Dr Nowlan]] (a) your CV and (b) a brief description of which type of project you are interested in and why. Please note that the projects described below are exemplar projects, and it may be possible to offer different projects depending on your particular interests. Possible additional project ideas include:
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| * the importance of mechanical forces for spine development in the embryonic chick
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| * creating a mechanobiological simulation of joint shape morphogenesis
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| * computational modelling of human fetal movements
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| * Effects on prenatal joint development of a period of immobility followed by movement recovery in the chick model system
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| * Image registration analysis of joint shape development
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| '''Funding'''
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| * MRes applicants must arrange their own funding sources.
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| * PhD funding is competitive, and is organised through the [http://www.imperial.ac.uk/bioengineering/study/postgraduate-research/phd/dtp/ Department of Bioengineering Doctoral Training Programme (DTP)]. You may be eligible for alternative/additional scholarship schemes- information on scholarships [http://www.imperial.ac.uk/study/pg/fees-and-funding/scholarships/ here]
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| '''Project #1: Recapitulating skeletogenesis in vitro: biomechanics and mechanobiology of cartilage and bone development'''
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| Research from our group has shown that mechanical stimulation due to fetal movements (in vivo) or due to applied mechanical forces (in vitro) leads to measurable changes in growth and shape effects in the developing skeleton. This project will use a bioreactor system to culture developing chick and mouse limb explants in order to quantify the relationship between movements and developmental change, and to explore the cell and organelle level changes leading to the observed changes. The work will be highly relevant to tissue engineering of cartilage and bone, as we will be aiming to use mechanical forces to more closely recapitulate developmental processes leading to functional skeletal tissues. This project would be suitable for candidates from either biology or engineering backgrounds.
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| [[Image:limbs_in_bioreactor.gif|200px|center|Bioreactor]]
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| '''Project #2: Fetal movements as biomarkers of prenatal brain development'''
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| Fetal movements are an important indicator of a developing baby’s health and particularly of brain development. However, fetal movements are not commonly assessed clinically and no automated tracking or analyses of movements are performed. Ongoing research in our group has developed algorithms to track fetal leg movements, and pilot data indicates that aspects of fetal movements may correlate with healthy or unhealthy brain development. This project will build upon previous projects to develop enhanced automated tracking methods for fetal movements from fetal cine MRI data, and correlate the movements with normal and abnormal brain development. This project offers a valuable opportunity to work on a highly interdisciplinary project, with close collaboration with clinicians. The project would be suitable for candidates with a bioengineering, biophysics or computer science background, with prior knowledge or experience of image processing being a particular advantage. This project will be joint supervised by Dr Niamh Nowlan and Dr Bernhard Kainz (Department of Computing)
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| [[Image:Fetal Movement.tif|730px|center|Fetal movements biomarker]]
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