PhD student AI in medical imaging for treatment decision support in Oncology

We offer a 4-year PhD position to develop and implement an automated system based on machine learning of Computed Tomography (CT) scans to help doctors decide which patients with testicular cancer require surgery after chemotherapy.

Dit ga je doen

Our lab for Translational Cancer-Imaging leads multiple studies in which AI techniques are translated into decision support systems for precision care in Oncology. In short: how to get the right treatment to the right patient at the right time.

Your objective will be to research new AI techniques to analyze contrast-enhanced Computed Tomography (CT) images of patients with testicular cancer after chemotherapy in order to facilitate accurate triaging to surgery. This will result in interpretable and trustworthy Artificial Intelligence, deployed into a prototype decision support system for further testing in clinical environment.

The project – funded by Stichting Hanarth Fonds - is strongly multi-disciplinary with collaborations between the departments Image Sciences Institute, Medical Oncology, Urological Oncology and Radiology at UMC Utrecht. In addition, the project connects to other cancer centers in the Netherlands.

We are looking for a creative analytical person with a multidisciplinary mindset, who enjoys approaching problems from new perspectives, and who likes to contribute to solving socio-economic health challenges related to optimizing cancer treatment while minimizing patient side-effects. Upon completion of your research, you will obtain your PhD degree.

Hier ga je werken

This research will be conducted at the Image Sciences Institute, housed within the Imaging and Oncology Division of the University Medical Center Utrecht. The division is internationally recognized for its research on image acquisition, image analysis, artificial intelligence, and image-guided interventions, and has one of the largest concentrations of medical imaging researchers in Europe. You will work alongside staff from medical oncology, urological oncology, medical-image analysis, radiology, as well as a team of PhD students working on various other systems. For more information, visit www.isi.uu.nl and www.imago.uu.nl.

Dit neem je mee

• You hold an MSc degree in physics, medical imaging, biomedical image sciences, or a related discipline within the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) domain.
• Experience in (medical) image processing, machine learning and Python coding are an asset.
• Knowledge of pattern recognition and multivariable statistics is helpful.

Selection procedure
You can expect to hear from us about your application no later than July 1st.

Dit bieden we jou

• A salary between € 3017 and € 3824 gross per month (salary scale OIO), based on full-time employment (36 hours). 
• Salary increase of 3% from July 2025, according to the collective labor agreement (cao). 
• A contract for four years.
• Year-end bonus of 8.3% and holiday allowance of 8%. 
• Pension insurance with ABP. We take care of approximately 70% of the monthly contribution. 
  100% public transport reimbursement. Are you coming on foot, by bike or by car? You will then receive a reimbursement of € 0.18 per km (by car up to a max. of 40 km one way). 
• Possibilities to develop yourself personally and professionally. 
• The option to select additional employment benefits in exchange for gross salary, such as purchasing a bicycle and memberships.