Computational spatiotemporal atlas of the brain vessel tree – ERC Consolidator Grant CARAVEL

Fonction
Département
Date
03-2025
Reference
PhD Position – Thesis offer M/F (Reference: DS/MAZ/CARAVEL2/032025)

Join our team within the ERC Consolidator Grant CARAVEL, a cutting-edge project focused on developing next-generation tools for extracting, modeling, and analyzing the brain vessel tree to study neurovascular aging. We seek a highly motivated PhD candidate to contribute to creating a computational spatio-temporal atlas of the neurovascular tree to study the effects of aging.

This PhD project aims to develop a novel computational spatiotemporal atlas of the neurovascular tree to investigate aging-related changes. Current state-of-the-art approaches, relying on image registration, often fail to capture the fine details of smaller-scale vessels. This project will explore innovative methods to represent the atlas in a detail-preserving manner, enabling capturing temporal changes at all scales. The atlas will be constructed using multiple neurovascular imaging sequences, capturing the behavior of both veins and arteries. Leveraging the power of generative models, the atlas will be designed to predict the aging trajectory of individual vascular trees.

Key Responsibilities

  • Develop a computational spatiotemporal atlas of the neurovascular tree for aging studies by using multiple neurovascular imaging sequences, capturing the behavior of both veins and arteries.
  • Investigate novel approaches to represent the atlas in a detail-preserving way, capturing changes at all scales.
  • Integrate generative models to predict the aging trajectory of individual vascular trees
  • Collaborate with clinicians to validate the atlas by studying the spatiotemporal changes in the neurovascular tree associated with aging from large public databases.
  • Contribute to the dissemination of research findings through publications and presentations.
  • Contribute to the animation of research activities by actively participating in the group’s weekly meetings
  • Contribute to teaching activities through lab assistance and marking

About the team

The successful candidate will be hosted within the AI4Health@EURECOM research group led by Prof. Maria A. Zuluaga.  Prof. Zuluaga holds an ERC Consolidator Grant, providing access to cutting-edge research infrastructure and fostering a vibrant and competitive research environment. The candidate will benefit from such a dynamic and collaborative research environment. CARAVEL fosters strong interdisciplinary collaborations, providing opportunities to interact with researchers from diverse backgrounds, including national (Grenoble Institute of Neurosciences) and international (King’s College London) institutions, as well as clinical institutes (CHU Nice and Guy and St Thomas Hospitals).

Requirements

  • Master's degree in Computer Science, Physics, Biomedical Engineering, or a related field.
  • Proficiency in deep learning techniques and their application to image segmentation.
  • Strong programming skills in Python (or similar languages).
  • Experience with computer vision and algorithm development.
  • Background in medical image analysis and processing is a plus
  • Ability to work independently and as part of a collaborative research team.
  • Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
  • Good command of English for reading/writing scientific articles and delivering oral presentations

Application

The application must include:

  • Detailed curriculum vitae,
  • A cover letter stating your motivation and fit for this project
  • Name and address of two references.
  • List of publications, if available

Applications should be submitted by e-mail to secretariat@eurecom.fr with the reference:
DS/MAZ/CARAVEL2/032025 before June 30th 2025.

Start date : January 1st 2026
Duration: Duration of the thesis

More info