PhD position on Robust, Generalizable AI for Medical Imaging

Job description

Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used in medical applications, supporting doctors and other medical professionals in their work, facilitating the analysis of medical images and other data, for more rapid, comprehensive and accurate diagnosis, guidance of surgeries and more. Today, deep learning methods are achieving excellent results on many medical imaging problems, resulting in highly accurate segmentation, recognition, classification, anomaly detection. However, they do not always generalize, meaning they fail when faced with a dataset from a different source (e.g. a different brand of scanner). More generally, they face challenges with so-called Out-of-Distribution (OOD) data or display overly optimistic results on data similar to the training dataset, indicating possible shortcuts and overfitting. This is particularly critical in applications like medical imaging, where data distribution drift may occur due to different imaging protocols, minor change in images obtained from the same modality but different machines, various artifacts. Anomalies and unseen pathologies may further confound the validity and reliability of results.

Your task would be to investigate and improve the robustness and generalizability of AI for medical imaging applications. This may involve the effective detection of out of distribution data or outliers, as well as the development of reliable, generalizable visual analysis solutions for various medical image classification, segmentation, and anomaly detection problems, also in collaboration with medical experts and hospitals.

Your profile

• We are looking for enthusiastic, highly motivated and curiosity-driven researchers (D/F/M).
• You have, or will shortly, acquire a M.Sc. degree in the field of data science, computer science, electrical engineering, applied mathematics, biomedical engineering, or a closely related study program.
• You have a creative mindset and excellent analytical and communication skills.
• You have a good team spirit and like to work in an interdisciplinary and      internationally oriented environment.
• You are proficient in English.

Our offer

• As a PhD candidate at UT, you will be appointed to a full-time position for four years, with a qualifier in the first year, within a very stimulating and exciting scientific environment;
• The University offers a dynamic ecosystem with enthusiastic colleagues;
• Your salary and associated conditions are in accordance with the collective labour agreement for Dutch universities (CAO-NU);
• You will receive a gross monthly salary ranging from € 2.770,- (first year) to € 3.539,- (fourth year);
• There are excellent benefits including a holiday allowance of 8% of the gross annual salary, an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%, and a solid pension scheme;
• The flexibility to work (partially) from home;
• A minimum of 232 leave hours in case of full-time employment based on a formal workweek of 38 hours. A full-time employment in practice means 40 hours a week, therefore resulting in 96 extra leave hours on an annual basis.
• Free access to sports facilities on campus
• A family-friendly institution that offers parental leave (both paid and unpaid);
• You will have a training programme as part of the Twente Graduate School where you and your supervisors will determine a plan for a suitable education and supervision;
• We encourage a high degree of responsibility and independence, while collaborating with close colleagues, researchers and other staff.

Information and application

Are you interested in this position? Please send your application via the 'Apply now' button below before May 31, and include:

• A cover letter (maximum 2 pages A4), emphasizing your specific interest, qualifications, motivations to apply for this position.
• A Curriculum Vitae, including a list of all courses attended and grades obtained, and, if applicable, a list of publications and references.
• An IELTS-test, Internet TOEFL test (TOEFL-iBT), or a Cambridge CAE-C (CPE). Applicants with a non-Dutch qualification and who have not had secondary and tertiary education in English can only be admitted with an IELTS-test showing a total band score of at least 6.5, internet. TOEFL test (TOEFL-iBT) showing a score of at least 90, or a Cambridge CAE-C (CPE).

For more information regarding this position, you are welcome to contact Alexia Briassouli at a.briassouli@utwente.nl.

About the department

At the University of Twente, we stand for life sciences and technology. High tech and human touch. Education and research that matter. New technology which leads change, innovation and progress in society. The University of Twente is the only campus university of the Netherlands; divided over five faculties we provide more than fifty educational programmes. We have a strong focus on personal development and talented researchers are given scope for carrying out groundbreaking research.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability status. Because of our diversity values we do particularly support women to apply.

The faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS) comprises three disciplines that shape Information and Communication Technology. ICT is more than communication. In almost every product we use mathematics, electronics and computer technology and ICT now contributes to all of societies' activities. The faculty works together intensively with industrial partners and researchers in the Netherlands and abroad and conducts extensive research for external commissioning parties and funders. The research which enjoys a high profile both at home and internationally, has been accommodated in the multidisciplinary research institutes: Mesa+ Institute, TechMed Centre and Digital Society Institute.

About the organisation

The faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS) uses mathematics, electronics and computer technology to contribute to the development of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). With ICT present in almost every device and product we use nowadays, we embrace our role as contributors to a broad range of societal activities and as pioneers of tomorrow's digital society. As part of a people-first tech university that aims to shape society, individuals and connections, our faculty works together intensively with industrial partners and researchers in the Netherlands and abroad, and conducts extensive research for external commissioning parties and funders. Our research has a high profile both in the Netherlands and internationally. It has been accommodated in three multidisciplinary UT research institutes: Mesa+ Institute, TechMed Centre and Digital Society Institute.