call for Ph.D.: ‘Identification of Medical Endocrine Systems’

The research group Syscon in the department of Information Technology of Uppsala University (Sweden) (http://www.it.uu.se/research/syscon) invites applications for a Ph.D. studentship (4-5 years). The succesful applicant will work in the context of the ERC project on engineering for endocrine systems, entitled “Systems and Signals Tools for Estimation and Analysis of Mathematical Models in Endocrinology and Neurology”. Especially motivated students with a strong background in engineering, computer science, applied mathematics or alike are encouraged to apply. This research will be conducted under supervision of Kristiaan Pelckmans, Alexander Medvedev and Petre Stoica.

In this Ph.D. project we will explore different approaches to unravell complex interaction networks as observed in hormonal, dynamical systems of the human body. The study of such endocinous systems is important in order to understand cause and consequence of different diseases, notably Parkinsons’ and type II Diabetes. The key point is that such systems use complex interaction strategies, typically taking the form of pulsatile signals of concentration of hormones in the blood stream. As classical modeling tools are often not satifactoy for such signals, ample room for improvement and further exploration of either theoretical or applied research remains in this area.

The applicant will work in the framework of a larger cooperation with different medical teams, and work towards a practical solution based on a sound theoretical foundation. In order to obtain this, we will combine the best of such exciting research areas as system identification, machine learning, signal processing, theoretical computer science, flavoured with a healthy engineering perspective.

The closing date for applications is at the end of februari. The official anoucement will follow in due time. If you are interested or have any question, contact Kristiaan Pelckmans (kp(at)it.uu.se).