Position: PhD studentship funded by EU Host-Driven Marie Curie Action RTN (Marie Curie job opportunity for Early Stage Researcher, 0-4 years of experience).
Place of work: Heidelberg, Germany
Contract: Fixed term
Duration: 3 years
Start date: 01/09/2007
Deadline for application: 01/04/2007
Job title: Clinical lung imaging
Profile: Graduate or Masters Physicists with a strong theoretical and experimental background, knowledge of electronics and programming in languages such as C, and MATLAB.
Job description: The work will involve implementation of novel imaging techniques on 3T and 1.5T whole body MRI systems. In the PHELINET project (Polarised Helium Lung Imaging Network, EU- 6th Framework Program), the group has proposed to implement innovative methodologies and lung imaging protocols for humans related to lung perfusion/ventilation imaging and dynamic ventilation imaging. New applications comprise time-resolved MR angiography of the chest, 3D perfusion MRI of the lung and lung cancer, dynamic (2D+t and 3D+t) MRI of respiratory mechanics, implementation of oxygen-enhanced MRI of ventilation and gas exchange, morphological and functional MRI of the lung in cystic fibrosis as primary imaging modality. The student will be encouraged to participate in ongoing collaborations with other researchers across Europe with multiple opportunities to visit leading international laboratories and to attend taught summer schools.
Environment: The German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ) is a foundation under public law and a member of the Helmholtz Association of National Research Centres (Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren) with its goal to systematically investigate the mechanisms of cancer development and to identify cancer risk factors. The departments of Medical Physics in Radiology and Radiology of the DKFZ are equipped with three modern 1.5 T whole-body MR scanner; high field whole-body systems will be installed in the near future: 3.0 T (in 2006/2007) and 7.0 T (in 2007/2008). We are doing basic research in developing new MR-techniques for measuring perfusion, diffusion, oxygenation, and sodium in the human brain or other organs like lung, liver or heart. The group is composed of scientists from physics as well as radiology. It has know-how and expertise in MR sequence programming and its application in human studies. The research group has background in physics and is part of an interdisciplinary team working in close co-operation with the medical department.
Funding: The project is funded as part of the EU- 6th Framework Program - Research and Training Network "PHELINET" (Polarised Helium Lung Imaging Network, 2007-2011, information posted on http://www.phil.ens.fr). As a consequence, specific rules with trans-national mobility conditions apply for recruitment.
Gross amount of employment contract: 31710 euros/year. Recruited researchers in Marie Curie RTNs also receive travel, mobility, and relocation allowances. 
Restrictive conditions: For detailed information about the rules of mobility and conditions of nationality applicable to eligible researchers, please visit: http://ec.europa.eu/research/fp6/mariecurie-actions/. In particular: 1/The candidate should preferably (but not exclusively) be a national of EU Member or Associated States, excluding Germany; 2/ At the date of appointment, she/he should not have resided or worked in Germany for more than 12 months in the last 3 years. PHELINET recruitment is based on an equal opportunity policy. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
Contact: For more information on the project, please contact Prof. Dr. Lothar Schad, German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ), Dept. Medical Physics in Radiology (E020), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany. Tel.: ++49 6221 422569. FAX: ++49 6221 422572. 
E-Mail: L.Schad@DKFZ-Heidelberg.de.
Web: http://www.dkfz-heidelberg.de/mrphys/.


 
