Post-doctoral Research Associate in Advanced Liver MRI

About the role

We are looking for a highly motivated Postdoctoral Researcher to join Dr Andrada Ianus’ Research Group at the School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences, King’s College London. You will join a dynamic multi-disciplinary team with access to cutting-edge imaging facilities and world-renowned expertise. You will work on an ERC Starting Grant funded project to deliver novel MRI approaches to image the liver and enable the detection of micrometastases in cancer patients.

The overarching aim of this project is to enable the detection and characterisation of liver micrometastases in cancer patients based on a novel MRI approach which combines multi-dimensional diffusion-relaxometry acquisitions, efficient data denoising and biophysical modelling of the tissue microstructure.

In this position, you will work on developing advanced MRI techniques and employing them in a longitudinal clinical study focused on the early detection of liver metastases in cancer patients.  You will be responsible for the sequence implementation, data acquisition and analysis, both for healthy volunteers and patients.

The work will be based at St Thomas’ Hospital. The applicant should have (or be in the final stages of completing) a PhD in Biomedical Engineering, Medical Physics, Medical Imaging, or a related area. They should have good analytical and programming skills and experience with the acquisition and analysis of (clinical) MRI data, as well as with mathematical modelling, image processing methods and/or machine learning.

Experience of methods used for quantitative MRI and/or previous hand-on experience implementing MRI pulse sequences are a plus. Ideally, applicants will have a proven research track record through peer review publications and conference presentations. They will also have excellent communication, organisational and time management skills and a creative approach to problem solving, together with the ability to work constructively and effectively within the team.

This is a full-time post (35 Hours per week), and you will be offered a fixed term contract for 3 years (with possibility of extension).

About you

Essential criteria 

• Hold a PhD (or near completion) in Biomedical Engineering, Medical Physics, Medical Imaging or related discipline* 
• Good working knowledge of MRI theory, data acquisition and analysis
• Good working knowledge of mathematical modelling and machine learning methods
• Practical experience within a research environment and / or publication in relevant and refereed journals
• Proficiency in MATLAB, Python, or other relevant programming languages
• Self-motivated, ability to work independently 
• Ability to communicate well, critically assess research findings, to present at conferences and represent the team in meetings
• Willing and able to work in a team and conduct out-of-working hours data acquisitions when needed

* Please note that this is a PhD level role but candidates who have submitted their thesis and are awaiting award of their PhDs will be considered. In these circumstances the appointment will be made at Grade 5, spine point 30 with the title of Research Assistant. Upon confirmation of the award of the PhD, the job title will become Research Associate and the salary will increase to Grade

Desirable criteria

• Relevant practical experience, ideally with projects involving clinical MRI data 
• Experience implementing MRI sequences on clinical scanners and/or knowledge of Pulseq
• Knowledge of human research ethical principles and methods
• Work experience in a multi-disciplinary environment 
• Knowledge of principles of research studies design and statistics

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