UTS HDR Scholarship (Development of biomechanical biopsy imaging for tumour tissue screening)

Label-free light microscopy with mechanical specificity is at the frontier of science and technology, promissing to revolutionise biomedical diagnostics and fundamental research. In this proejct you will learn: 1) biological methods for tissue preparation, 2) light-based methods for 3D micromechanical imaging, and 3) machine learning techniques for data processing and image analysis – to develop and deploy a novel state-of-the-art opto-mechanical and real-time imaging biopsy for the differential detection of tumour tissues from surrounding healthy tissue.

The position offered will be primarily based at the University of Technology Sydney and is supported by Garvan Institute of Medical Research and recently established Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence in Optical Microcombs for Breakthrough Science (COMBS). Part of the position will involve working closely with cancer biologists on site at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Darlinghurst. The position is supported by an HDR stipend of $37k/year with possibility of an additional discretionary top-up for high-achieving students and $2.5k/year allowance for research related expenses and travel.

The Ph.D. project aims are:

1. To develop and optimise novel methods for tissue preparation and imaging of complex biological material using advanced Brillouin microscopy.

2. To identify markers of pathological processes in cancer cells and tissues based on micromechanical and fluorescence imaging collected using a state-of-the-art combined Brillouin-Fluorescence microscopy system.

3. To develop novel numerical and analytical methods for processing of Brillouin and fluorescence data, including classification, principle component and clustering machine learning methods.

4. To combine all the aforementioned methods to develop and deploy a micromechanical imaging biopsy system for real-time tumour tissue diagnostics.   

Eligibilty

Applicants must be a domestic student – either Australian permanent residents or New Zealand citizens. To be eligible for this applicantion, applicants must have completed a UTS recognised degree in

• MSc Research or MSc Coursework with a research thesis of at least 6 months,

• or Bachelor Honours degree with 1st Class, or 2nd Class Division 1, or division 1 honours, or an equivalent or higher qualification,

• or submitted other evidence of general and professional qualifications that demonstrates potential to pursue graduate research studies.

Selection process

The candidate should have:

1) strong motivation to work in the field of biomedical diagnostics and light-based microscopy.

2) aptitute for working with technology and hardware.

3) previous experience of working in biological or optical microscopy lab.

2) skills of data analysis using MATLAB or equivalent software.

3) strong communication and problem solving skills.

Please submit your expression of interest via email to irina.kabakova@uts.edu.au. The expression of interest must include: 1) a cover letter stating why you are interested in the position, 2) a CV to address your suitability, 3) a digital copy of your degree transcript with grades.

Required

Applicants should send their CV and list of publications to contact person’s email address by the closing date. The application process is currently open and will continue to be open until all positions have been filled. We highly encourage interested candidates to apply as soon as possible. Shortlisted candidates will be advised with further details.

For further Information on application essentials please visit UTS Graduate Research applications.

Not eligible for this scholarship ?

We also offer a number of other fully funded scholarships, studentships and awards at university, faculty and department level to support both Domestic and Overseas students

For more information, visit UTS Science Faculty Research Projects or search in UTS Scholarship search tool to find out what you may be eligible for.