Postdoc position(s) on “In-silico approaches to quantify blood flow regulation in the brain” 80-100%

The ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research is the University of Bern's transdisciplinary Center of Excellence for medical technology research. Its mission is to tackle unmet clinical needs and envision future challenges in diagnosis, monitoring and treatment to create viable healthcare technology solutions with imagination, agility and purpose. Its projects run from discovery and basic research to clinical translation.
Project background
Blood flow regulation is a fundamental mechanism for brain function. Moreover, impairments in regulation are associated with neurodegenerative diseases and, thus, are a crucial biomarker for diagnosis. Datasets resolving the entire vasculature of the mouse brain offer the opportunity to study flow regulation in different brain areas and for varying disease states. This requires innovative algorithms describing the vasodynamics causing increased blood perfusion (project 1) and automatic labeling of vascular structures in whole brain datasets (project 2).

Postdoc position(s) on
“In-silico approaches to quantify blood flow regulation in the brain”

Blood flow is regulated by vascular mural cells, which induce vasodilations of different vessel types. To describe flow regulation in health and disease, a novel numerical model needs to be derived that describes mural cell dynamics and its consequences for blood perfusion (project 1). Automatic labeling of different vessel types is indispensable to deepen our understanding of vascular topology and to apply our novel mural cell model on whole brain data sets. Here, a multimodal approach including imaging data and topological and blood flow-related metrics is envisioned (project 2). For both projects, we collaborate with different biologically oriented groups, and consequently, the ability to collaborate in an interdisciplinary team is key. There is also the opportunity to be involved in student supervision.

The ideal candidate is highly motivated, able to work independently, and has the following qualifications:

• PhD in computational sciences, engineering, or comparable in an interdisciplinary biomedical context.
• Expertise in numerical modeling of physical and/or biological processes.
• Strong analytical capabilities and excellent programming skills (python, git).
• Knowledge about fluid dynamics, biomedical imaging, and brain physiology is considered a plus.
• Strong interest in biomedical research and experience in leading interdisciplinary projects.
• Excellent scientific track record and strong communication skills in English.

The candidate will be affiliated with the University of Bern and will work in the team of Dr. Franca Schmid, which is associated with the CVE group. Covering various topics related to biomedical flow systems and the strong connection to the clinics offer attractive conditions to conduct competitive research. The project is fully funded for 2 years. It can be covered by one or two postdocs working on the respective projects for 1 year each. The starting date is in autumn 2024 or upon agreement.

The application should contain the following documents: 1) motivation letter (including a brief research statement), 2) CV (including contact information of three references and a full list of publications), 3) major scientific achievements (as described in the SNF regulations), 4) recommendation letter and 5) full transcripts of studies. The documents should be combined into ONE pdf file and sent to Dr. Franca Schmid (franca.schmid@unibe.ch) with the subject “[Postdoc – Flow regulation]”. Applications will be reviewed until the position is filled.