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PhD position at the University of Salzburg

October 30, 2024

PhD position at the University of Salzburg “Boot and position fitting in Alpine Skiing”

Description of the project and the University
The Team Biomechanics of the Department of Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Salzburg offers a PhD position for up to 3 years in the area of “Boot and position fitting in Alpine Skiing” along with a well-known company in this field.

Requirements, desired skills and experience:

Obligatory:

  • Master of Science or Master of Applied Science in Sport Science, Biomechanics, Sports Technology or close related fields. Applicants close to their final Master exams are welcome too.

Preferable:

  • excellent skills and practical experience in one or more of the following research areas (preferable interdisciplinary competences):
  • biomechanics
  • physics
  • sports engineering, sports technology, sensor technology
  • practical experience in Alpine Skiing
  • general manual and mechanical skills
  • autonomous and proactive working
  • basic to advanced skills in programming in Python, R, Matlab or similar
  • written and spoken English proficiency
  • skills in dissemination of scientific results (e.g. writing scientific publications)
  • flexibility and the ability to work in a team

Duration of the employment:
The successful candidate will first be offered a temporary position of one year with the option of renewal for up to two more years. Prolongation of the contract is subject to the progress in the first year. The preferred starting date is as soon as possible. The University of Salzburg offers, in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Austrian Universities (§ 26 “Kollektivvertrag für die ArbeitnehmerInnen der Universitäten“ Verwendungsgruppe B1), a salary of € 2.684,10 gross per month (14 x) for a 30-h/week employment.
The applications can be submitted until November 15, 2024 to hermann.schwameder@plus.ac.at. Negotiations with optional fitting candidates will start immediately after having received the applications.

 

12 Doctoral Researcher Positions

August 6, 2024

Friedrich Schiller University is a traditional university with a strong research profile rooted in the heart of Germany. As a university covering all disciplines, it offers a wide range of subjects. Its research is focused on the areas Light—Life—Liberty. It is closely networked with non-research institutions, research companies and renowned cultural institutions. With around 18,000 students and more than 8,600 employees, the university plays a major role in shaping Jena’s character as a cosmopolitan and future-oriented city.

The DFG Research Training Group (RTG) 2723 Materials‐Microbes‐Microenvironments (M‐M‐M): Antimicrobial biomaterials with tailored structures and properties, at Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany, combines expertise in materials, life, medical, optical and computational sciences to develop ground-braking and highly innovative antimicrobial biomaterials for the prevention of biomaterials-associated infections (BAI). This will be approached by six interdisciplinary PhD tandem projects, each with two doctoral researchers (DRs) working on complementary materials science and medical/life science aspects of these questions in each project, with one materials scientist and one medical/life science professional working as team supervisors. Friedrich Schiller University (FSU) and Jena University Hospital (UKJ) closely cooperate within the RTG. Our full spectrum of excellent expertise in materials science and life sciences will be leveraged to address the critical issues of novel antimicrobial biomaterials in a collaborative spirit. The affiliated early career programs of the RTG, Jena School for Microbial Communication (JSMC) and Jena Graduate Academy offer ambitious, structured and interdisciplinary post-graduate training based on top-level basic and applied research. The research groups of the RTG M-M-M invite applications for

12 Doctoral Researcher Positions

to conduct research and training in the development of novel antimicrobial materials and their biological/medical compatibility and reactions.

Commencing on 1 February 2025 (fixed date), the positions are for up to 4 years. Six of the positions (materials science) are full time (100%), six of the positions (life sciences) are part time (65%). Each doctoral researcher will work in one of the following interdisciplinary tandem projects (materials science & life sciences):

  • Project A: Switchable antimicrobial materials (Prof. Dr. K. D. Jandt (FSU) & Prof. Dr. B. Löffler (UKJ))
  • Project B: Antimicrobial and bioactive nanoparticle functionalized protein coatings (Prof. Dr. K. D. Jandt (FSU) & Prof. Dr. B. Wildemann (UKJ))
  • Project C: Antimicrobial bioactive glass for treatment of traumatic or pathological bone defects (Prof. Dr. D. Brauer (FSU) & Prof. Dr. G. Matziolis (UKJ))
  • Project D: Graphene based antimicrobial biomaterials (Prof. Dr. A. Turchanin (FSU) & Prof. Dr. B. Löffler (UKJ))
  • Project E: Microbiological testing of materials (Prof. Dr. M. Pletz (UKJ) & Prof. Dr. C. Eggeling (FSU))
  • Project F: Digitized antimicrobial biomaterials semantic knowledge base (Prof. Dr. M. Sierka (FSU) & Prof. Dr. M. T. Figge (FSU/HKI))

 

Your responsibilities:

    • Actively and effectively contribute to the development of the project in research, training and organization of the RTG
    • Cooperate and support within the project and beyond
    • Produce high-quality written manuscripts for publication
    • Present your results at national and international conferences
    • Assist with training other researchers, including masters’ and undergraduate project students, as required
    • Contribute to maintaining the collaborative, friendly and welcoming environment within the RTG and its collaboration partners

Your profile:

    • An outstanding master’s degree (MSc) in materials science or physics or chemistry or chemical science or materials engineering or closely related (for materials science DRs), or microbiology or cell biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, biotechnologies, medicine, computer science, bioinformatics or closely related (for life science DRs). Candidates in the final stages of obtaining their degree are also eligible to apply.
    • Desired methodological skills materials science (one or more): materials design and synthesis, materials characterization and testing, PVD, microscopy methods, handling of proteins and nanomaterials, organic and inorganic materials preparation, computational materials science, data base experience, materials engineering skills
    • Or: Desired methodological skills life science (one or more): basic training in microbiology and bacterial culture; experience in cell culture and infection experiments; basic knowledge in molecular biology, FACS-analysis, advanced automated image data analysis, programming skills
    • Highly motivated individual with an interest in joining one of the interdisciplinary research areas of the RTG and cooperate with other projects and partners
    • The ability to work creatively and independently towards developing your own research project and collaborate with DRs of other disciplines
    • An integrative and cooperative personality with enthusiasm for actively participating in the dynamic RTG community
    • Outstanding English communication skills, both written and spoken

We offer:

    • Research in a clinically highly relevant topic
    • A highly communicative atmosphere within an energetic scientific network
    • A comprehensive mentoring program and soft skills courses for early career researchers
    • An international competitive interdisciplinary training program in materials science and life science
    • Jena – City of Science: a young and lively town with a vibrant local cultural agenda
    • A family-friendly working environment with a variety of offers for families: University Family Office ‘JUniFamilie’ and flexible childcare (‘JUniKinder‘)
    • University health promotion and a wide range of university sports activities
    • Attractive fringe benefits, e.g., capital formation benefits (VL) and an occupational pension (VBL)
    • 30 days of vacation per calendar year plus two days off on December 24 and 31
    • Remuneration based on the provisions of the Collective Agreement for the Public Sector of the Federal States (TV-L) at salary scale 13 — depending on the candidate’s personal qualifications—, including a special annual payment in accordance with the collective agreement.

Doctoral Research Positions are funded by the German federal and state governments. Friedrich Schiller University Jena is an equal opportunity employer. To promote gender equality in science, applications by woman are particularly welcome. Candidates with severe disabilities will be given preference in case of equal qualifications and suitability.

Applications in English should comprise a cover letter, a detailed curriculum vitae and copies of academic certificates as well as a minimum of two letters of support from referees. Please familiarize yourself with the available doctoral researcher projects at the website https://www.mmm.uni-jena.de/22/job-advertisement and the application process as described in the Online Application Portal. Please submit your application via the JSMC Online Application Portal, under the vacancy ID 169/2024 by 9. September 2024:

https://apply2.uni-jena.de/94vod .

 

For further information for applicants and the information on the collection of personal data, please refer to Data privacy and information for applicants

Master Thesis – Digital biomarkers in inflammatory arthritis – biomechanical and experimental analysis of hand motions

July 29, 2024

The Department of Internal Medicine 3 – Rheumatology and Immunology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg & Universitätsklinikum Erlangen together with the Institute of Applied Dynamics (LTD) Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, are offering a

Master Thesis – Digital biomarkers in inflammatory arthritis – biomechanical and experimental analysis of hand motions

Marker-based motion capturing is the current gold standard for assessing human movement. Movements such as walking are well studied and differences in patterns influenced by diseases or muscular imbalances can be evaluated and used for diagnosis. However, evaluation of fine motor actions such as hand movement are challenging to date. Within the CRC
EmpkinS, the Department of Internal Medicine 3 – Rheumatology and Immunology and the Institute of Applied Dynamics (LTD) conducted a large research study. A group of 150 patients and 75 healthy subjects were already measured for characterizing hand movements. These evaluations will help to define hand biomarkers for monitoring disease activity in rheumatic patients.

The project involves

  • Biomechanical analysis of hand movements based on the existing data set
  • Statistical analysis and reporting of relevant parameters
  • Data collection of hand movements via motion capturing and EMG

Qualifications

  • Biomedical engineering, engineering with focus on biomechanics, sport science or related studies
  • C1 in German (for communication with patients) and B2 in English
  • Programming experience in Matlab, Python or similar
  • Courses in biomechanics and statistics (desirable), interest in working with patients

What we offer

  • Interdisciplinary environment in an innovative Collaborative Research Centre EmpkinS
  • Possibility to continue as a PhD student
  • Additonal employment as student assistant in the working group Musculoskeletal Function and Mechanobiology, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen

Start date: November 2024

If interested, please E-mail to: Birte Coppers, birte.coppers@uk-erlangen.de

 

PhD student position in Biomechanics / Musculoskeletal modelling

June 28, 2024

   

PhD student position in Biomechanics / Musculoskeletal modelling

Earliest start: September 01, 2024
Workplace: Basel (Switzerland)

The project
Anterior knee pain, notably due to patella-femoral joint instability (PFJ) is a very common orthopaedics issue, particularly in adolescent girls. The causes for the instability are multi factorial and there is a knowledge gap on what are the most important factors and the patho-mechanics of the instability. Three main factors may contribute: abnormal shape of the femur and patella bones, laxity of the medial patella femoral ligament (MPFL), and the orientation of the knee extensor mechanism. Clinical decision-making process requires to evaluate the relative contribution of each factor to the overall instability to address the principal cause(s) and help the patient. We hypothesise the relative contribution of each factor varies from one patient to another, and between groups of increasing level of instability.
The objective of this project is to develop and implement a patient-specific musculoskeletal modelling platform to evaluate the relative contribution of each factor to the PFJ instability. Three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) will be utilised to create patient-specific detailed model of the knee joint while bi-plane radiographs (EOS) will be utilised to create patient-specific models of the entire lower limbs and provide accurate markers to bone registration.
Musculoskeletal simulations will utilise the OpenSim musculoskeletal modelling platform.

Your assignments

The PhD project is fully funded for up to four years. The student will be working among a multidisciplinary team of orthopaedic surgeons, physiotherapists, human movement scientists, and biomedical engineers at the University Children’s Hospital Basel (UKBB). The PhD student will oversee data collection for the project at UKBB. The candidate will be registered as a PhD student at the University of Basel, and work under the supervision of Dr. Morgan Sangeux (UKBB and Department of Biomedical engineering).
In addition, the PhD student will help organize – jointly with the team – workshops and conferences, participate in outreach activities of the project, and present her/his research at scientific meetings.

Your profile

Applicants should hold a master’s degree in Biomechanics or related fields and possess excellent, demonstrated, programming skills (Matlab/python). The student should have good command of German (to interact with patients and families) and English and be able to work autonomously within an internationally and institutionally diverse environment.

We offer you

The project is based at UKBB and in the department of biomedical engineering at the University of Basel. The multidisciplinary nature of the project ensures the successful candidate will be immersed in a stimulating clinical and research environment, with cutting edge medical imaging infrastructure. The salary and the conditions of employment will be those of PhD students at the University of Basel. Salary: approx. 50’000 Swiss francs / year.

Contact

Applicants should contact Dr. Morgan Sangeux (morgan.sangeux@unibas.ch) with a motivation letter and a current CV.

PhD on Computational Assessment of Spinal Instability in Scoliosis

September 7, 2022

PhD on Computational Assessment of Spinal Instability in Scoliosis

Are you eager to understand how instability in the growing spine can lead to excessive tissue strains and whether this could result in scoliosis?

Job description

Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS) is a 3D deformity of the spine affecting previously healthy children, substantially reducing their quality of life and creating a life-long burden of disease. Till now, no curative treatment exists partly because its cause and disease mechanism are still unknown. In this ERC funded project, we will uncover whether a complex perfect storm of anatomical, biomechanical and mechanobiological causes in the intervertebral disc are responsible AIS.

During the adolescent growth spurt, many changes are occurring in our spines. If tissue maturation is not matched by increasing loads and changes in shape, this could lead to spinal instability and excessive tissue strains. Until now this was not possible to study because AIS only occurs in human children and there were no safe methods to image their spines repeatedly during growth. In the ERC project, we are running a clinical study using newly developed MRI-based synthetic CT imaging to collect such information in normal and AIS children.

In this PhD research, we will first develop methods to generate subject-specific FE spine models. These will be based on a combination of landmark recognition, statistical shape/appearance modeling and machine learning methods. Once validated against imaging and biomechanical data from cadaveric spines, subject-specific multi-scale motion segment and spine models will be generated from the imaging data to explore spinal instability and intervertebral disc deformations during growth in the children of the clinical study.

The PhD candidate will contribute to a multi-disciplinary team of biomedical engineers, imaging scientists and spine surgeons, from the student to senior level, working on engineering, biological, imaging and clinical studies. An educational and professional development program is offered to all PhD candidates. You will also be involved in teaching courses, as well as contribute to the supervision of bachelor and master students. Based on your research, you will be expected to present at conferences, publish in scientific journals and write a doctoral dissertation.

Embedding

The research will be mainly conducted within the Orthopaedic Biomechanics (OPB) group which cover diverse topics in bone, intervertebral disc and tendons/ligaments, as well as articular cartilage. The group is well known for their multidisciplinary approach combining tissue mechanics, mechanobiology, and biomaterial mechanics. They utilize, in vitro, ex vivo and computational models to understand tissue conditions in disease and for regenerative engineering, operating at the international forefront of engineering of living, load-bearing tissues.

The OPB group is part of the Regenerative Materials and Engineering cluster of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Eindhoven University of Technology. The department offers Bachelors and Masters education programs who are integrally linked to its research areas ranging across Chemical Biology, Biosensing, Biomaterials, Biomechanics Tissue Engineering, Computational Biology, Biomedical Imaging and Modelling, with 800+ students and 200+ academic staff. The university is open and inclusive with short communication lines. The people are curious, collaborative, and strive for excellence in research and education at an internationally renowned level. Our lively campus community facilitates connections between staff and students, in an open, friendly, vibrant atmosphere that welcomes and inspires.

Job requirements

We are accepting applications from enthusiastic and highly talented candidates who meet the following requirements:

  • A MSc degree (or equivalent) in biomedical engineering or a comparable domain.
  • Experience and knowledge of tissue biomechanics is appreciated.
  • A research-oriented attitude.
  • Ability to work in a team and with the industrial partners.
  • Fluent in spoken and written English.

Conditions of employment

  • We offer a meaningful job in a dynamic, stimulating and ambitious team environment.
  • A full-time employment for four years, with intermediate evaluation after nine months.
  • A gross monthly salary and benefits in accordance with the Collective Labor Agreement for Dutch Universities.
  • Additionally, an annual holiday allowance of 8% of the yearly salary, plus a year-end allowance of 8.3% of the annual salary.
  • A broad package of fringe benefits, including an excellent technical infrastructure, moving expenses, and savings schemes.
  • Family-friendly initiatives are in place, such as an international spouse program, and excellent on-campus children day care and sports facilities.

Information and application

Do you recognize yourself in this profile and would you like to know more? Please contact dr. Bert van Rietbergen (b.v.rietbergen@tue.nl) or prof. Keita Ito (k.ito@tue.nl). Please include a curriculum vitae with a list of your publications.

PhD Position in Human Motor Control and Biomechanics

May 22, 2022

PhD Position in Human Motor Control and Biomechanics

part time 70%

Job description

The “BioMotion Center” group (professorship of Prof. Dr. Thorsten Stein) at the Institute of Sports and Sports Science (IfSS) offers a PhD position in an interdisciplinary robotics project at KIT, Germany. The aim of the project is the development of humanoid assistive robots and exoskeletons that provide personalized assistance for older adults to maintain independence during daily life.

In this project, the “BioMotion Center” group is working in close cooperation with researchers from sports & health sciences, computer science, and engineering science to address the following problems:

  • Biomechanical modeling and analysis of human gait and balance in critical situations (e.g., tripping) to inform the development and evaluation of exoskeletons.
  • Adaptation and de-adaptation of the user to an exoskeleton.
  • Use of exoskeletons as an analysis and training tool for physical performance in aging.

PhD students are expected to actively contribute to laboratory experiments related to the outlined problems and participate in all project-related interdisciplinary research activities (e.g., participation in weekly lab meetings or regular meetings with all co-investigators).

Personal qualification

  • Very good Master’s degree in the fields of sports science (preferably with a focus on movement science, biomechanics, or computer science) or physics/ engineering science (preferably with a focus on biomechanics)
  • Ability to work independently as well as within a team
  • Strong interest in interdisciplinary work in the context of human movements and assistive robotics
  • Basic knowledge in human motor control as well as biomechanics of human movements
  • Basic skills in programming (e.g., Matlab)
  • Advanced knowledge of written and spoken English (Project language is English) and at least basic knowledge of German (desirable)

Salary

The remuneration occurs on the basis of the wage agreement of the civil service in TV-L E13, depending on the fulfillment of professional and personal requirements.

Organizational unit

Institute of Sports and Sports Science (IFSS)

Starting date

as soon as possible

Contract duration

limited 3,5 years

Application up to

June 26, 2022

Contact person in line-management

For further information, please contact Prof. Dr. Thorsten Stein, email: thorsten.stein@kit.edu.

Application

Please send your application including a cover letter, your CV, and all certificates/referees in electronic form to the secretary of Prof. Dr. Stein, Ms. Glaser, email: petra.glaser@kit.edu

Vacancy number: 2112/2022

We prefer to balance the number of employees (f/m/d). Therefore, we kindly ask female applicants to apply for this job.

Recognized severely disabled persons will be preferred if they are equally qualified.

PhD position (m/f/d)

May 22, 2022

PhD position (m/f/d)

searched for The Clinic for Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery, Movement Analysis Laboratory.

The position is financed by the German Research foundation (DFG) and is limited for three years.

The division Movement Analysis directs two movement laboratories performing instrumented 3D gait- and movement analysis for research and clinical application. In the traditional gait laboratory patients with neurologic movement disorders are monitored for orthopaedic treatment planning and outcome control. In the second laboratory – designed as course with inclines and stair cases – patients with lower limb prostheses are monitored both for research and therapeutic treatment. A big archive of patients’ data including, gait data, clinical tests and treatment reports, is available for a period of more than 25 years.

Within a new research project, our aim is to assess Electromyography (EMG) signals in patients with cerebral palsy during walking to have a better understanding of EMG patterns. We aim to perform feature-oriented analysis framework for setting EMG data in context with clinical measures of joint ranges of motion, muscle strength, and spasticity as well as with gait features.

Possible candidates should hold a Master’s degree in mathematics or engineering, preferably Medical engineering, Computer or Robotics. Having strong background in machine learning and datamining techniques and programming skill especially in Matlab are required. Having knowledge in movement science would be plus. Candidates must be prepared for team work in a clinical setting.

Knowledge of German is not a formal prerequisite but the willingness to pick up the language will ease the work significantly.

  • Job-ID: V000009585
  • Field of application: Zentrum für Orthopädie, Paraplegiologie und Unfallchirurgie
  • Location: Heidelberg
  • Start date: 01.07.2022
  • Job Category: Science and teaching
  • Working hours: Part time (65%)
  • Published: 19.05.2022
  • Limitation:Temporary
  • Contract:TV-L

Contact & Application

Questions may answer Dr. Firooz Salami: Firooz.Salami@med.uni-heidelberg.de

Interested?

Please send your application including letter of motivation, CV and copies of certificates and references at best electronically as single PDF by email entitled ‘PhD Position, Muscle activation patterns in gait with cerebral palsy.

Zentrum für Orthopädie, Paraplegiologie und Unfallchirurgie
Prof. Dr. Sebastian Wolf

We stand for equal opportunities. Severely disabled persons are given priority in the case of equal suitability. The University Hospital aims to generally increase the proportion of women in all areas and positions in which women are underrepresented. Qualified women are therefore particularly encouraged to apply. Full-time positions are generally divisible, unless there are official or legal reasons to the contrary.

 

Professorship (W2) for Experimental Orthopaedics

May 10, 2022

At the Jena University Hospital (JUH), a

Professorship (W2) for Experimental Orthopaedics (m/f/d)

is to be filled for the first time in a joint appointment procedure with the Waldkliniken Eisenberg (WKE), according to the Thuringian model. Connected to the professorship are the establishment and direction of the Orthopaedic research facility at WKE.

The person to be appointed (m/f/d) should represent the subject in research and teaching. He/She should have an outstanding research reputation in the field of biomechanics, movement analysis, simulations, implants or biomaterials. The applicant should strengthen at least one of the research foci of the faculty (aging and age-related diseases, medical optics and photonics, sepsis and infection). Furthermore, a close cooperation with the neighboring subjects and participation in teaching are expected.

In order to be eligible for the position, candidates must have a completed degree in medicine or life or engineering science, pedagogical aptitude, a particular aptitude for academic work demonstrated by a doctorate as well as a Habilitation or equivalent academic achievements. The candidate should have an outstanding track record in publications, extramurally funded research (particularly from public third-party donors) and leadership skills. Participation in acquisition of collaborative projects is expected, too.

The employment contract with WKE is initially limited to 5 years. Appointment at Jena University Hospital will be at full membership level according to § 85 Abs. 7 Thür HG. Teaching obligation is 2h.

JUH and WKE aim to increase the proportion of women in research and teaching and therefore strongly encourage qualified female academics to apply. Severely disabled persons will be given preferential consideration in the case of equal suitability.

Please submit complete application documents online at

www.berufunsportal.uni-jena.de

by June 20, 2022. We kindly ask you to submit usual documents (cover letter, CV, copies of certificates and degrees, list of publications and lectures, list of courses, teaching evaluation, list of third-party funds acquired, research concept). In addition, your teaching concept should provide information about linking of preclinical and clinical phase, digitization and implementation of ÄÄpprO. Please contact berufungen@med.uni-jena.de with any questions.

PhD studentship in Musculoskeletal Biomechanics

April 14, 2022

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PhD studentship in Musculoskeletal Biomechanics

School: Applied Sciences
Duration of studentship: fixed-term, 3-years
Scholarship: includes stipend of £15,000 per annum, tuition fees at the UK rate and research costs
Closing date for applications: 15th May, 2022

Applications are invited for a full-time three-year fully funded PhD studentship at London South Bank University (LSBU), to begin in September 2022.

Ankle injuries account for approximately 10-20% of all injuries in football, with ~75% of these being ligament sprains/rupture to the lateral ankle complex. Worryingly, re-injury rates after a first-time sprain, across all sports, may be as high as 40-50%. Despite an intensive two decades of research, explicit ligament-specific diagnostic markers for risk of (re-)injury continues to allude sports practitioners. The purpose of this project is to develop a methodology to diagnose the susceptibility to lateral ankle ligament injury and differentiate normal from ineffective healing.

We are seeking an exceptional and enthusiastic person to join the researchers within the Sport and Exercise Science Research Centre (SESRC) at LSBU for a programme of training in applied biomechanics research. The Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 has placed our research group in the top ten of all UK universities by intensity-weighted research quality with world-leading and internationally excellent research (73%) and impact (90%).

Supervisors

Dr Darren James, Dr Sevan Harput and Prof. Kiros Karamanidis

Project details

The objective of the PhD programme is to develop and evaluate a methodology to analyse the biomechanical properties of ligaments, with particular focus on diagnosing the susceptibility to lateral ankle ligament injury and differentiate normal from ineffective healing. Specifically, the project will use ultrasonography to develop an image processing technique that directly evaluates ligament properties. The main scope will be to: i) ensure the robustness of ultrasound (B-mode and/or high-frequency) for this purpose, ii) develop a statistical colour model, iii) validate the model’s sensitivity on a human foot and ankle phantom, and iv) investigate ligament biomechanical properties in-vivo. There will be opportunities to travel to a collaborating laboratory for the successful candidate.

Eligibility

The successful candidate will have a degree and ideally an MSc in a relevant branch of engineering; and have an interest in programming and image processing. They will have prior experience of working in a laboratory environment and preferably within the topic area. The scholarship will be awarded, based on merit, for three years of full-time study. EU and international candidates are welcome to apply, but non-UK based students will be required to source funding to bridge the gap between home and international tuition fees.

Contact for informal enquiries: please contact Dr Darren James on email: jamesd6@lsbu.ac.uk.

How to apply

If interested, please send your resume/CV, copies of academic transcripts and a covering letter – outlining your suitability for the position, to Dr. Darren James (Director of Studies) at: jamesd6@lsbu.ac.uk by 15th May, 2022.

Shortlisted candidates will be contacted with an invitation to attend an interview. Candidates are requested to respond promptly to such an invitation, indicating their availability and agreement to attend. The successful candidate will be selected for the award in accordance with the University’s postgraduate admissions requirements and must be eligible under the Education (Fees and Awards) Regulations 1997.

PhD position at Heidelberg University (Germany) within the Research Training Group LokoAssist

February 24, 2022

“Seamless integration of assistive systems for natural locomotion of humans”

Technical University of Darmstadt & Heidelberg University

Overview

We are fascinated by supporting people with new technologies and are keen to advance approaches for motion assistance. Leg prostheses, orthoses and exoskeletons become active locomotion assistance systems by individually and situation-specifically detecting their users’ movements and providing them with appropriate force/torque support. The research in our RTG LokoAssist has received funding by the German Science Foundation (DFG) through a highly competitive process. It aims at a “seamless” integration of assistive devices into the human body schema. This requires an automatic recognition of different movement intentions to create an intuitive and predictable motor behavior. Such assistive systems promise a significantly expanded range of motion with lower metabolic energy expenditure, better individual adaptability, and greater ease of movement.

While this potential has so far not been fully tapped, the RTG addresses it with a highly interdisciplinary approach: the creation of innovative technologies, which continuously and actively involve potential users into the research and developmental process to achieve high quality interaction and a high level of user acceptance.

The RTG brings together researchers from computer science, engineering and human sciences who systematically investigate two central ideas in their research:

L1) Assistive systems exhibit dual functionalities: they support human movement (synthesis) and they help examining and identifying such (analysis).

L2) Assistive systems are evaluated in two complementary ways: objectively in their degree of body integration (expert’s perspective) and subjectively by the individual person (user’s perspective).

The RTG is part of a dynamic network of research and teaching activities of the principal investigators at TU Darmstadt, Heidelberg University, and leading national and international research groups, clinical research and companies. As a doctoral candidate you will work in interdisciplinary tandems across disciplines in joint laboratories. With an already available extensive laboratory infrastructure with different demonstrators of new active orthoses and prostheses, excellent conditions for experimental and theoretical research exist right from the start. Our cooperation network of leading international research groups from medicine, engineering, and life sciences enables doctoral students to have diverse, targeted learning and research stays.

 

PhD Subtopic C1: Assessment of movement and assistance scenarios

Short description

The needs for daily movements and appropriate support through motion assistance systems are very diverse – from quasi-stationary, but load-changing postures, e.g., in the kitchen, up to hiking in mountainous terrain. We aim to develop a catalogue of elementary movements of which these complex movements are composed and their context-specific need for support from the assistance system. Physical limitations, both from biomechanical as well as from the user’s perspective need to be considered.

Research will be performed to review functional handicaps in the context of lower limb prosthetics and orthotics for identifying everyday tasks and transfer situations to be monitored via motion capture, force, EMG measurements and other sensor modalities such as functional materials (ferromagnetic, ferroelectric). Everyday movements will be recorded, categorized and analyzed also in transfer situations for the physically unrestricted as well as their model-based movement decomposition.

The PhD student will perform respective research in movement science, starting from literature review, and cooperate in cohort trials in the motion lab.

Profile and qualification requirements

  • Very good Master’s degree in the fields of sports with focus movement science or engineering with focus biomechanics
  • Good programming skills
  • Good knowledge of English and good communication skills in German

PI and Co-PIs

Sebastian Wolf (PI), Mario Kupnik (Co-PI), Frauke Nees (Co-PI)

For further details feel free to contact the PI: Sebastian.wolf@med.uni-heidelberg.de. Application are please sent to this address and also submitted via the following portal: https://www.tu-darmstadt.de/lokoassist

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