PhD position Advanced 3D bioprinting in Australia

The Melbourne School of Engineering of the University of Melbourne is offering a PhD position in: Advanced 3D bioprinting, biofabrication and modelling at the intersection of computational optimisation, microscale physics, tissue engineering

Project

This job offer is for a PhD position in the Collins BioMicrosystems Laboratory (CBML) in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Melbourne, Australia’s #1 University. This is an open call for students interested topics related to 3D bioprinting and microscale manipulation, especially those interested in building new technologies and approaches.

One potential application space is in tissue organoids, collections of 100-10,000 cells replicating the function of macro-scale organs, are an emerging technology that is enabling rapid drug discovery and the development of implantable tissues. The techniques used to form these organoids, however, are highly limited in terms of the tissue structures that can be created; the ability to spatially define these organ-analogues with an order of magnitude higher precision in terms of their heterogeneous composition and shape will make tissue organoids an even more powerful tool for biomedical science. In this project, the successful applicant will seek to combine approaches in computational optimisation, potentially including artificial intelligence, genetic algorithms and the like to design systems that can generate defined organoid topologies. A PhD in this area is an attractive area to work due to the significance of applications and the wide range of skillsets that will be developed.

Because this interdisciplinary project lies at the intersection of a number of different research fields, self-motivated students with an interest or experience in microfabrication, mechatronics, computational optimization, analytical modelling and/or microscale physics, with the potential to develop skillsets in cell culture, are strongly encouraged to apply. Interested candidates may contact Dr. Collins for additional information.

Requirements

Applicants are expected to have at least an undergraduate (4-year) degree in engineering, science or a related field.
Applicants should be able to demonstrate proficiency in at least one computing environment (i.e. MATLAB, Mathematica) or programming language (i.e. Python, C++, etc.).
Scholarships are competitive, where only applicants who have scored highly from their degree (and/or have prior research experience) will be considered.
Results from TOEFL/IELTS, etc. are required to prove English language skills for applicants whose first language is not English. This requirement is generally waived for this whose primary language of instruction at University has been in English.