PhD Studentship: Modelling the Biomechanical Networks of the Lung in Heath and Disease

Application deadline: All year round

Research theme: Applied Mathematics; Biomechanics

To apply: click on the 'Apply' button above

This 3.5 year PhD is fully funded for home students; tuition fees are covered and a tax free stipend set at the UKRI rate (£19,237 for 2024/25). There is one funded PhD post available. The project must start in September 2025.

Applications will be accepted until the post is filled. 

We are looking for an exceptional student to take on an exciting interdisciplinary project at the interface of biomechanical modelling and respiratory medicine. The successful applicant will be a PhD candidate based at the Department of Mathematics at the University of Manchester working alongside collaborators at the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre based in Wythenshawe (south Manchester). It provides an excellent opportunity for a student with a background in mathematics or a suitable branch of the physical sciences to apply their expertise to a project that will help understand how changes in lung structure associated with disease affect lung function.

The goal of the project is to develop new modelling approaches to simulate the complex structure and mechanics of the lung parenchyma (i.e. the tissue surrounding the airspaces of the lung). The proposed approach is based on recent successes using methods based in discrete calculus and graph theory to model large-scale discrete networks representing physical systems in biology. 1–4 The research is motivated by the two-way mechanical feedback that occurs between the tissue and airways and how these mechanical linkages are altered in lung diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This will be supported by a collaboration with researchers in respiratory medicine to inform model parameterisation in COPD based on data from human lung tissue samples.

Ultimately, these new developments will be incorporated into an existing organ-scale computational model of airflow in the lungs5, in order to predict the feedback between tissue mechanics and the delivery of gases and particles into the lung. The successful candidate will be one of 3 PhD students working in the growing Lung Modelling Group at the University of Manchester, led by Dr Carl Whitfield. Therefore, the student will benefit from directly relevant peer support as well as the experience of the larger biomechanics group in the Department of Maths. The project will also be co-supervised by Prof Oliver Jensen (Sir Horace Lamb Professor in the Department of Mathematics) and Dr Andrew Higham (Research Associate in the Division of Immunology, Immunity to Infection and Respiratory Medicine).

Applicants should have, or expect to achieve, at least a 2.1 honours degree or a master’s (or international equivalent) in a relevant science or engineering related discipline.
- Have experience (taught or practical) of computer programming and numerical modelling.
- Have a keen interest in medical research and working in a multi-disciplinary team.

Any of the following attributes would be advantageous, but are not required:

- Knowledge of biomechanics, continuum mechanics or mathematical biology
- Knowledge of C++, Python, MATLAB or Julia programming languages

We strongly recommend that you contact the supervisors for this project before you apply. Please include details of your current level of study, academic background and any relevant experience and include a paragraph about your motivation to study this PhD project. The contact details for the supervisors are Dr Carl Whitfield: carl.whitfield@manchester.ac.uk, Prof Oliver Jensen oliver.jensen@manchester.ac.uk and Dr Andrew Higham: andrew.higham@manchester.ac.uk

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