Biomechanics of traumatic brain injury: Sex specific biomechanical characterisation of brain tissue

University College Dublin; Ireland; On-site; EUR 25,000; Full time

Job summary

A renowned educational institution in Ireland is offering a fully-funded PhD position focusing on the biomechanics of traumatic brain injuries. The candidate will conduct mechanical testing and data analysis related to brain tissue. Applicants should have a Master's degree in a relevant field, strong mathematical and experimental skills, and familiarity with Python or Matlab. A €25,000 tax-free stipend is provided, and the position is open to both EU and non-EU applicants.

Qualifications

• Excellent mathematical skills and experimental skills are mandatory.
• Experience with data analysis and visualization is essential.
• Desirable experience includes working with biological tissues.

Responsibilities

• Work full-time on the PhD project at University College Dublin.
• Engage in teaching assistance, like delivering lab demonstrations.
• Take part in training and development.

Skills

Mathematical skills

Experimental skills

Coding in Python or Matlab

English communication skills

Report writing skills

Data analysis and visualization

Education

Master's degree or Primary degree in Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, or related discipline

Job description

School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering

The worldwide incidence of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) is on the rise and is most prevalent in people younger than 25 and older than 75 years. TBI lies on a continuum from transient symptoms to fatal haemorrhages with mild TBI (mTBI) being the most common type of TBI. Current brain models used to simulate TBI and design preventative, diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic technologies have mostly been developed using adult male data.

This PhD project aims to determine the role of sex-specific biomechanics in the initiation and progression of TBI by characterizing the sex-specific damage properties of brain tissue under large strain and dynamic loading conditions. The project involves mechanical testing brain tissue, characterizing the brain’s microstructure, and developing new microstructure-informed material damage models for brain tissue.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities:

• Work full-time on the PhD project at University College Dublin.
• Engage in teaching assistance, e.g., delivering lab demonstrations to undergraduate students.
• Take part in training and development.
• Contribute to public engagement and outreach activities.

Requirements

Mandatory requirements include a Master’s degree or Primary degree (First or Upper Second Class Honours) in Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or a related cognate discipline, excellent mathematical skills, experimental skills, coding skills in Python or Matlab, English communication skills, report writing skills, and experience with data analysis and visualization.

• Desirable experience includes working with biological tissues, fitting models to data, mechanics of materials, microscopy, and excellent research skills.

Additional Information

This is a fully-funded 4-year PhD position with a €25,000 tax-free stipend per annum, plus PhD registration fees. The position is open to both EU and non-EU applicants. To apply, please send a cover letter, CV, academic transcripts, and contact details for two academic referees to [e-mail].