School of Computer Science & Information Technology, University of
Nottingham, UK
VACANCY
Post Doctoral Research Assistant and PhD Studentship
in Scheduling, Artificial Intelligence & Operations Research
Title of the project
Novel Approaches to Radiotherapy Planning and Scheduling in the NHS
Start Date: October 1, 2005
Applications are invited for one Post Doctoral Research Assistant for 4
years and one fully funded PhD studentship for 3 years, to work with the
Automated Scheduling, Optimisation and Planning Research Group (ASAP) in
the School of Computer Science and Information Technology at the
University of Nottingham, on an EPSRC-funded project entitled "Novel
Approaches to Radiotherapy Planning and Scheduling in the NHS"
Project Description
The main aim of this research is to investigate the potential of a
variety of operational research and artificial intelligence techniques
in both the efficient generation of treatment plans and the
scheduling/rescheduling problems that arise in the delivery of
radiotherapy treatments. This project concerns both the problem of
efficient radiotherapy planning in terms of the generation of possible
radiotherapy treatments for patients and the scheduling of multiple
resources (staff, patience and equipment) in oncology departments.The
various activities, starting from patient referral through to the
delivery of the appropriate treatment, form a complex system, for which
generating a high quality planning and scheduling solution is a
challenging real-world problem that significantly impacts on healthcare
staff and patients.
The project requires a multidisciplinary effort, aiming at combining
different operational research and artificial intelligence disciplines
within a complex real-world medical environment. It comprises both
theoretical analysis and practical software implementation.
The research will be carried out under the supervision of Dr Sanja Petrovic
http://www.cs.nott.ac.uk/~sxp.
Collaborators
This is a joint research proposal with Coventry University. Two large
hospitals, Nottingham City Hospital and the UHCW NHS Trust in Coventry,
which are both providing radiotherapy treatment to a large population
throughout their respective regions, are acting as collaborators on the
project. They will provide real-world data and expertise in the domain
of radiotherapy treatment.
Research Group
The Automated Scheduling, Optimisation and Planning Research group
(ASAP) is one of four major groupings within the School. The School
obtained a grade 5 in the 2001 Research Assessment exercise. ASAP is
concerned with investigating and developing Artificial Intelligence and
Operational Research approaches to a vide variety of scheduling and
optimisation problems. It has been at the forefront of research in this
area over the last few years and is internationally recognised for its
research work. The group comprises 9 members of academic staff, 11 Post
Doctoral Research Associates, 35 PhD students and 1 secretary. Further
details are available on the WWW at: http://www.asap.cs.nott.ac.uk/
<http://www.asap.cs.nott.ac.uk/ASAP/>
Post Doctoral Research Assistant
Post Doctoral Research Assistant will investigate the potential of a
variety of novel artificial intelligence and operational research
methods, with an emphasis on case-based reasoning, in generating the
most appropriate treatment plan for a patient. Case-based reasoning has
been successfully applied to a wide range of domains, but its
application to radiotherapy planning has been very limited up to now.
The ideal candidate for this project will hold a PhD in a subject
related to the project. The starting salary is 21,640 per annum. This
post will be offered on a fixed-term contract for a period of four
years. Please quote ref. SanjaPetrovic/01 and the title of the project.
PhD Studentship
The studentship provides a living allowance at the standard EPSRC rate
(12,300 per annum) and tuition fees at the UK/EU student rate.
Applicants must hold, or expect to obtain a good honours degree (or
equivalent) in Computer Science or a related discipline. Please ensure
your CV includes your degree subject together with the classification
achieved or expected, and your English language qualifications with the
score obtained, if applicable. In addition to your CV, you will also be
required to complete a University application form. This can be
downloaded from the WWW at: https://pgapps.nottingham.ac.uk/. Please
quote ref. SanjaPetrovic/02 and the title of the project.
Applications
Applicants should send a detailed curriculum vitae together with the
names and addresses of two referees who can support their application.
Applications should be sent to:
Ms Emma-Jayne Dann
School of Computer Science & IT, University of Nottingham
Jubilee Campus Wollaton Road
Nottingham NG8 1BB, UK
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
Closing date for applications is 26 August, 2005.
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