PhD position Machine Learning for Biomedical Engineering within the context of several collaborations on machine learning to biomedical data

PhD Student

Last application dateAug 31, 2022 00:00DepartmentTW05 – Department of Information TechnologyContractLimited durationDegreeMaster degree in Computer Science or Biomedical EngineeringOccupancy rate100%Vacancy typeResearch staff

Job description

Vacancy: PhD position Machine Learning for Biomedical Engineering

SUMOLab – IDLab (Ghent University, Belgium)

IDLab is a core research group of imec, a world-leading research and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technologies, with research activities at Ghent University. IDLab performs fundamental and applied research on data science and internet technology, and is, with over 300 researchers, one of the larger research groups at imec. Our major research areas are machine learning and data mining; semantic intelligence; multimedia processing; distributed intelligence for IoT; cloud and big data infrastructures; wireless and fixed networking; electromagnetics, RF & high-speed circuits and systems.
The activities of SUMO Lab are embedded in this stimulating environment and include predictive analytics, hybrid AI, machine learning, time series analysis, anomaly/event detection, etc., with applications in the health care and biomedical engineering sector.

Job Description

The omnipresence of sensors causes an explosive growth of data that offers the potential for a revolutionary transformation in the health care sector. As biomedical monitoring devices are becoming more widespread, continuous measurements of critical biomarkers can be collected for the purpose of screening, medical diagnosis and prediction of disease progression. The availability of this time series data makes it possible to develop new systems, such as wearables, that can extract insights from data and transform them into actionable knowledge.
Furthermore, hybrid AI will be considered to bridge the gap between purely data-driven machine learning models (such as artificial neural networks, or deep learning models) and physics-based mechanistic models that describe complex underlying disease processes. Possible examples of illnesses that will be considered in the PhD project are either respiratory related (such as COPD, sleep apnea, asthma,…) and/or heart conditions (such as heart failure, atrial fibrillation,…).
The proposed PhD research is defined within the context of several national and international collaborations on the application of machine learning to biomedical data. You are expected to actively work and significantly contribute to research projects in this area.

Job profile

Your profile

• Highly creative and motivated PhD student with the following qualifications:
• You have (or will obtain in the next months) a master degree in Computer Science, or a master degree in Biomedical Engineering with excellent (‘honors’-level) grades.
• You have strong computer science skills (python, C++, etc.)
• You have a strong interest in machine learning and biomedical engineering, and are eager to advance the state-of-the-art.
• Experience with machine learning algorithmic approaches or frameworks (such as PyTorch, Tensorflow, GPFlow, etc.) is considered a significant plus.
• Experience with analysis of biomedical data (e.g. ECG, MMG, EEG,…) is a significant plus.
• You are a team player and have strong communication skills.
• Your English is fluent, both speaking and writing.
  

Our offer

We offer the opportunity to do full-time research in an international (with over 17 nationalities at IDLab, part of imec and Ghent University) and friendly working environment, with a competitive salary at Ghent University. While grounded in fundamental academic research, as a PhD candidate you will also participate in collaborative research with industrial and/or academic partners in Flanders and/or on a wider geographic scale (e.g., EU H2020 projects), in the framework of new/ongoing projects. Furthermore, you will publish your research results at major international conferences and in journal papers, as part of meeting the requirements for your PhD. The PhD position is available starting May 2022.

How to apply

Interested?

Send your application by email or any questions concerning this vacancy to prof. Dirk Deschrijver (dirk.deschrijver@ugent.be) and Prof. Tom Dhaene (tom.dhaene@ugent.be), indicating “Job Application: Machine learning for biomedical engineering” in the subject. Applications should include (1) an academic / professional resume, (2) a personal motivation letter, and (3) transcripts of study results, and (4) at least two reference contacts. After a first screening, selected candidates will be invited for an interview as a first contact in a multi-stage selection process.

• Application deadline: August 31th 2022 or until the vacancy is filled.
• Type of contract: Full-time
• Employment: Temporary (4 years), with yearly progress evaluation
• Earliest starting date: May 2022