university of maastricht | Scholarship for Nigerians and Africans

Postdoctoral Position in NIH Multiscale Modeling of the Human Knee, Netherlands

/ August 23, 2010 Leave a Comment

The Department of Biomedical Engineering is a joint department of the Eindhoven University of Technology and the University of Maastricht interfacing and integrating engineering and biomedical sciences from the two universities. The department is organized into 4 divisions: 1) molecular bioengineering, 2) biomechanics and tissue engineering, 3) biomedical imaging and informatics, and 4) biosignals and regulation.

We are looking for a Post Doc in the division of Biomechanics and Tissue Engineering for an international NIH-funded project, in which researchers from TU/e are working together with colleagues from Lerner Research Institute in Cleveland, the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, and Duke University in Durham.

Project description: The goal of the consortium is to understand how mechanical loading, applied at the level of a whole knee joint, can be translated into mechanical effects in cartilage, ligaments and menisci, at multiple scales, down to the level of a single cell. To predict cellular deformations from joint level mechanical loading, requires a multi-scale finite element model. Such a model is being developed in this project, and will be used for studying physiological as well as pathological responses. Part of the project is to obtain experimental data at multi-scales, which can be used for model validation.

The task of the TU/e in this project is to develop micro-structural models for cells and pericellular and extracellular matrix that describe the deformation and failure behavior of the tissue. TU/e also is responsible for performing experiments for data collection and validation of the micro-structural models. This includes monitoring abnormal deformations at the micro-level, and to establish critical levels of magnitude, duration and/or frequency above which these can lead to cell damage and disruption of homeostasis of the extracellular matrix.

Requirements:

We are seeking a candidate who is well versed with computational analysis and knowledgeable of biological processes. The candidate should be recently graduated from a PhD – program in biomedical engineering, mechanical engineering, (bio)physics or a related field, with,

* Knowledge and experience in biomedical science and technology,
* Strong affinity for multidisciplinary research and engineering science,
* Experience with finite element modeling and ex vivo biomechanical testing,
* Capacity to write and communicate fluently in English.

Appointment and Salary:

We offer

* a challenging job at a dynamic and ambitious university in an international consortium with top institutes and universities from the United States
* an appointment for two years;

* gross monthly salaries in accordance with the Collective Labor Agreement of the Dutch Universities (CAO NU).

Application Deadline 30-09-2010
Read more: http://scholarship-positions.com/postdoctoral-position-in-nih-multiscale-modeling-of-the-human-knee-netherlands/2010/08/04/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ScholarshipPositions+%28International+Scholarships+and+Financial+Aid+Positions%29&utm_content=Yahoo%21+Mail#ixzz0xQu3p6tm

Filed Under: Doctorate Degree, Engineering, Information Technology, Physical Science Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Postdoctoral Position in “Tissue Integrity of the Intervertebral Disc”, Netherlands

/ August 23, 2010 Leave a Comment

The Department of Biomedical Engineering is a joint department of the Eindhoven University of Technology and the University of Maastricht interfacing and integrating engineering and biomedical sciences from the two universities. The department is organized into 4 divisions: 1) molecular bioengineering, 2) biomechanics and tissue engineering, 3) biomedical imaging and informatics, and 4) biosignals and regulation.

In the second division is the Orthopedic Biomechanics Section whose general objective is to improve our understanding of function and damage of orthopedic tissues, esp. bone, cartilage and intervertebral disc. Ultimately, these insights are used to develop and improve strategies for treatment of pathologies. For this purpose, we regularly combine experimental and computational approaches. Results from experimental studies on cells and/or tissues are captured in theories that are evaluated using computer models, and predictions by these models are helpful for the design and interpretation of further experiments.

Project description:

Degeneration of the intervertebral disc is a common, painful and disabling pathology whose etiology and pathogenetic mechanism is poorly understood. It is generally believed that genetic, cell nutrition and biomechanical factors play a key role; however the interactions between them have been difficult to investigate because of the inherent limitations of current cell and organ culture methods. Among the genetic factors, collagen IX polymorphisms have been identified as a risk factor. In this project, the role of collagen IX will be investigated on the nanoscopic level in collagen gels of chicken. Optical tweezers will be used to analyse the influence of collagen IX upon a collagen network down to the individual fibril level. The resulting finding will be built into an existing FE-model of the degenerating disc.

Requirements:

We are seeking a Post Doc candidate acquainted with optical techniques in biomedical engineering and interested in biological processes and modeling of them. The candidate should be graduated from a Ph.D. program in biomedical engineering, (bio)physics or a related field, with,

* Knowledge of and experience with optical techniques in biomedical engineering,
* Strong affinity for multidisciplinary research and engineering science,
* Capacity to write and communicate fluently in English.

Appointment and Salary:

We offer:

* a challenging job at a dynamic and ambitious University
* an appointment for one year, with the possibility of extension with one year.
* gross monthly salaries are in accordance with the Collective Labor Agreement of the Dutch Universities (CAO NU), For the PD position it is increasing from € 2.861 per month initially, to € 2.977 in the second year
* an attractive package of fringe benefits (including excellent work facilities, 13th month salary, holiday allowance of 8%, child care and sport facilities).

Application Deadline 31-08-2010.

Filed Under: Doctorate Degree, Engineering, Medical Science, Physical Science Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Postdoctoral Position in Mechanical Screening and Selection of Circulating Cells, Netherlands

/ August 23, 2010 Leave a Comment

The Department of Biomedical Engineering is a cooperation of Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences of the University of Maastricht. The department participates in distinguishing research programs. Research areas are Molecular Bioengineering & Molecular Imaging; Biomechanics & Tissue Engineering; and Biomedical Imaging & Modeling. TU/e is situated in the European technology hotspot ‘Brainport Eindhoven’, known for its many high-tech industries and start-ups. A sparkling environment with opportunities for talented people.

The Department of Mechanical Engineering considers as the core of their activities design, realization and analysis of new products, processes and materials. Besides the basis of (solid and fluid) mechanics, materials, control and thermodynamics, parts of mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing science are important supporting tools. The field is explored by a combination of modeling using fundamental concepts and applied engineering and technology. Automotive Engineering Science and Micro- amp; Nano-Scale Engineering are important departmental themes. The Mechanical Engineering Department comprises about 1000 students and 250 staff members.

Cell lysis is the process of disrupting a cell membrane in order to obtain intracellular material, such as DNA, RNA, proteins, organelles, mitochondria, chloroplasts, etc, for further analysis or use. This is therefore an essential step in many biological and biomedical applications, for example for the sequencing of DNA originating from prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, or for infectious disease testing in which NA of bacteria or viruses must be detected. There are a number of existing lysis methods. Most of them use large volumes and are not suitable for integration in lab-on-chip systems. Methods using chemicals and /or enzymes to lyse cells could be miniaturized, but are considered to be too expensive or too invasive in disposable diagnostic systems. Our approach is to use the combination of electroporation (using electric fields generated by electrodes integrated in the device) with elongational flows to lyse cells in a controlled way within a micro-fluidic system. The advantage of this approach is that it may lead to a gentle, controlled lysis procedure. In addition, the approach would give the opportunity to study cell lysis in a controlled way in order to understand the process better.

The basic idea is that electroporation introduces controlled defects in the cell membrane, effectively weakening it. A subsequent exposure of the cell to an elongational flow would then deform it until complete lysis occurs. This process is reminiscent of classical fracture mechanics approaches.

The aim of the PostDoc project is to design variations of fluidic and electrode geometries to study the lysis method, in particular the effect of lysis on cell content, e.g. proteins or complexes of proteins. The device and the method need to be optimized to obtain a highly controllable method. The focus will be on circulating cells from the blood stream. Based on the experimental results, a model describing the cell failure has to be developed. This model will basically consist of the viscoelastic model for cell deformation, extended with a failure model. The combination of the numerical model and the experiments will lead to a better understanding and prediction of the effects of cell lysis. The project is embedded in a larger research program on ‘Circulating Cells’, performed by a consortium of several academic, clinical and industrial partners and funded by the Center for Translational Molecular Medicine (CTMM). The PostDoc will interact with these partners, and will be collaborating with existing activities on cell mechanical studies at the Materials Technology Institute.

Requirements

We are looking for candidates with a PhD in biomedical engineering, mechanical engineering, applied chemistry, etc. with a strong affinity for experimental and/or numerical micro-fluidic experiments, cell biology or mechanics, and biomedical applications.

Appointment and Salary

We offer:

* A challenging job at a dynamic and ambitious University
* The appointment is for one year. After a good evaluation your contract can be extended with 7 more months.
* The gross monthly salary will be in accordance with the Collective Labor Agreement of the Dutch Universities (CAO NU) and amounts initially to at least € 2861 per month (scale 10.4) depending on prior experience.
* An attractive package of fringe benefits (including excellent work facilities, end of the year allowance and sport facilities).

Application Deadline 31-08-2010
Read more: http://scholarship-positions.com/postdoctoral-position-in-mechanical-screening-and-selection-of-circulating-cells-netherlands/2010/08/04/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ScholarshipPositions+%28International+Scholarships+and+Financial+Aid+Positions%29&utm_content=Yahoo%21+Mail#ixzz0xQlaszs0

Filed Under: Doctorate Degree, Engineering, Physical Science Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,