Diffusion-weighted MRI already plays an important part in cancer diagnosis and its results impact treatment decisions. Furthermore, it is expected to have a key role in unleashing the revolutionizing potential of MR-guided radiotherapy.
This project aims at implementing distortion-less diffusion-weighted MRI with a particular focus on the Unity MR-Linac system, to enable daily functional MRI throughout the course of MR-guided radiotherapy. To meet the high requirements of radiotherapy in terms of spatial accuracy, in particular in the context of hypo-fractionated treatments, the successful applicant will have to combine MR pulse programming with state-of-the-art image reconstruction techniques, supported by dedicated high-performance hardware. The implemented technique will be tested in clinical studies regarding its value for assessment and prediction of treatment response. Another key aim of this project is the characterization of intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) with tailored diffusion-weighting gradient profiles.
The post holder will drive the work forward within a multi-disciplinary team of computer scientists, medical physicists and clinicians within the Joint Department of Physics at the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. Results will be published in relevant high-impact journals and presented at national- and international conferences.
Applicants will hold (or be very close to obtaining) a PhD in Physics, Engineering or another relevant field and ideally have experience in pulse sequence development and/or MR image reconstruction. It is anticipated that the starting salary will be in the range from £31,023* to £39,473 p.a. inclusive.
*thesis submitted, awaiting PhD award
Informal enquiries can be made to Dr Andreas Wetscherek (
[email protected]). Please do not send your application by email. To apply, please upload your CV and cover letter (addressing where you meet the person specification and including the names and addresses of two referees) using the ICR’s e-recruitment system, vacancy ref 730:
www.icr.ac.uk/jobsearch
