The Dutch center for mathematics and computer science (CWI, Centrum Wiskunde &
Informatica), and the Academic Medical Center (AMC), both located in Amsterdam,
together have multiple vacancies for postdocs and/or fully funded Ph.D. students
on a joint project on
evolutionary algorithms, machine learning, and biomechanical modelling to
innovate automated registration of medical images
https://www.cwi.nl/jobs/vacancies/phd-students-on-evolutionary-algorithms-machine-learning-and-biomechanical-modelling-to-innovate-automated-registration-of-medical-images
https://www.cwi.nl/jobs/vacancies/postdoctoral-researchers-on-evolutionary-algorithms-machine-learning-and-biomechanical-modelling-to-innovate-automated-registration-of-medical-images
Description
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CWI closely collaborates with the Academic Medical Center (AMC) in Amsterdam to
work on innovations in the medical domain along the entire spectrum from
algorithmic foundations to clinical integration. Currently, CWI and AMC have a
joint project for which we seek multiple talented PhD students to work on novel
combinations of multi-objective evolutionary algorithms, machine learning, and
biomechanical modelling for deformable image registration.
Deformable image registration is the process of aligning two images by
determining the transformation that maps points in one image to their
corresponding points in the other image. Deformable image registration has
potentially huge added value to many applications in healthcare since images
form a cornerstone for many diagnoses, treatments, and follow-up in modern
medicine. Key reasons why clinical implementation has proven to be extremely
challenging are lack of robustness, limited success for registration problems
involving large deformations or content mismatches, and a lack of insightful
tuning possibilities.
In this project, we aim to go beyond the proof-of-concept stage of a novel,
multi-objective, approach to deformable image registration for which a pilot
implementation was previously made by the Academic Medical Center (AMC) and
Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI; the Dutch national research institute for
mathematics and computer science). We will focus on the utilization of this
approach within a key medical area that stands to benefit from accurate
deformable image registration: radiation therapy. With this project we wish to
truly bridge the gap between theoretically powerful deformable image
registration software and real-world practically (i.e., clinically) useful
software tools to realize the true potential of deformable image registration
for radiation therapy and ultimately improve the treatment (i.e., make radiation
therapy more effective thereby reducing mortality rate and adverse side
effects). We aim to arrive at a stage of development where commercial parties
will be interested to integrate our technology within their software.
We currently specifically seek candidates for three intertwined subprojects:
1. Building an evolutionary multi-objective optimization engine that is
especially well-suited for deformable image registration, based on a
state-of-the-art evolutionary algorithms research line of CWI (the GOMEA
research line).
2. Building biomechanical deformation models that
a) can cope with large deformations (including e.g., sliding tissues) and
content mismatches, and
b) can be efficiently optimized over by the evolutionary algorithms, and
c) can be instantiated by machine-learning techniques.
3. Development and validation of the use of machine learning (e.g., deep
learning) to distinguish tissue types and automatically identify landmarks to
enrich deformation models.
This project will ultimately consist of four full-time research positions and a
part-time radiation therapy technologist position. The fourth full-time
researcher will be added to the team after one year.
These positions are available within the project titled “Multi-Objective
Deformable Image Registration (MODIR) – An Innovative Synergy of Multi-Objective
Optimization, Machine Learning, and Biomechanical Modeling for the Registration
of Medical Images with Content Mismatch and Large Deformations”. This project is
funded within the Open Technology Programme (OTP) of the Dutch Organization for
Scientific Research NWO Domain Applied and Technical Sciences (TTW, formerly
Technology Foundation STW) with industrial partners Elekta and Xomnia. The
academic and company partners involved in this project represent a core of
excellence in image-guided radiation treatment, evolutionary computation, and
applied machine learning.
Depending on the subproject, the appointment will be at CWI or at the AMC.
Decisions about the type of employment (PhD student or postdoc) as well as
institute of employment will depend entirely on the match between e.g.,
candidates and topics. Candidates are expected to spend at least one day per
week at the other institute.
For more information, including Requirements, Terms and Conditions, the
Application procedure, information about the host institutes and the research
group, please visit the following link(s):
https://www.cwi.nl/jobs/vacancies/phd-students-on-evolutionary-algorithms-machine-learning-and-biomechanical-modelling-to-innovate-automated-registration-of-medical-images
https://www.cwi.nl/jobs/vacancies/postdoctoral-researchers-on-evolutionary-algorithms-machine-learning-and-biomechanical-modelling-to-innovate-automated-registration-of-medical-images
For more information about the vacancy, please contact Peter A.N. Bosman,
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Dr. Peter A.N. Bosman
Senior Researcher
Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI)
(Centre for Mathematics and Computer Science)
P.O. Box 94079
1090 GB Amsterdam
The Netherlands
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http://homepages.cwi.nl/~bosman
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