PhD position in Machine Learning (ML) for longitudinal clinical data analysis

The position will be based in Santiago de Compostela (Spain) and the candidate will be enrolled in the doctoral program in Information Technologies at USC and the CiTIUS Training Program. Several visits and short-stays in Barcelona (Universitat Pompeu Fabra and/or BCNatal) are planned, as well as international research stays (e.g. CREATIS - Lyon, France). The expected starting date is March 2025.

This PhD will be developed within the framework of the COLLAGE project, funded by the Spanish Research Agency (PID2023-149959OA-I00), co-lead by Marta Nuñez-Garcia (CiTIUS, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Spain), and Gabriel Bernardino (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain).

 Ultrasound scans during pregnancy are key to assess fetal growth and detect abnormalities. They play a central role in fetal medicine, as it has been shown that early identification of abnormalities improves the outcome, ranging from life-long consequences to even death. While now medicine is able to detect pathologies when they have already manifested as significant abnormalities, more subtle deviations from normality, which appears in some syndromes or early stages, are hard to differentiate from the natural physiological variability present in the population. Consequently, these subtle deviations are difficult to detect.

 The main objective of COLLAGE is to enhance diagnostic capabilities by expanding the assessment of fetal status to the whole growth trajectories through the utilization of ultrasound imaging and advanced statistical models. Artificial intelligence (AI) has potential to help in analyzing complex data taking advantage of the longitudinal information, which is currently difficult to assess. However, applying AI to medicine remains challenging because the models must be accurate, but also reliable and free from any biases that could lead to unfair outcomes when applied to different datasets. The project involves the close collaboration of Dr. Fatima Crispi, leader of the Fetal Cardiac Programming research team at BCNatal (internationally renowned institution, specialized in gynecology, obstetrics, and pediatrics). The PhD candidate will have access to real fetal datasets from BCNatal.

Requirements

• Bachelor and Master (300 ECTS) in Biomedical Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics or related fields.
• Knowledge and experience in machine learning (both classical and deep learning) for image processing.
• Programming skills (Python, scikit-learn, torch, MONAI…).
• Interest in learning about fetal medicine and interacting with obstetricians. Previous knowledge in the medical field is not required.

Conditions

• 4 year full-time grant. Salary according to Spanish pay scale.
• Funds for attendance to scientific conferences worldwide.
• Research stays in partner labs in Europe or USA.
• Collaboration with several leading European research entities.
• Work in multidisciplinary team (engineers, AI specialists, obstetricians, ...)

Applications

Please send an email with your CV and short motivation letter to gabriel.bernardino@upf.edu, and martanunez.garcia@usc.es

Deadline: 15/10/2024

Who we are

CiTIUS is as research centre specialised in Intelligent Technologies with a team of more than 120 researchers. Our team is the greatest asset of our centre and we are continuously looking for scientific talent. CiTIUS provides a stimulating, interdisciplinary and cutting-edge scientific environment, where our researchers can foster and develop their scientific career in an international team. We are in a high-level scientific environment with four research centres specialized in different areas (CiQUS, CiMUS, IGFAE and CiTIUS). Santiago de Compostela is a UNESCO World Heritage City with more than 5 million square meters of green spaces and one of the 100 best places in the world by TIME Magazine 2021. See more here.

University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) offers a vibrant and stimulating environment for postdoctoral research, characterized by its academic excellence and rich history. Founded in 1495, USC is one of the oldest universities in Europe and has been recognized for its significant contribution to science and culture. Hosting around 20,000 undergraduate students and more than 2,500 PhD students, USC provides a dynamic and diverse academic community. The university has been awarded the “HR Excellence in Research” by the EC under the HRS4R process, highlighting its commitment to supporting researchers.