PhD Position in Medical Data Mining: Predicting Response to Therapy in Heart Failure by Using a Multiple Biomarker Panel

Applications are invited for a full-time 4-year PhD research
position shared by the Department of Knowledge Engineering,
Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands, and the
Heart Failure Clinic of the Maastricht University Medical
Centre, Maastricht, the Netherlands, starting from October-
November, 2011.

The PhD project aims at discovering multiple biomarker panels
from heart-patient data using data-mining techniques. The
final goal is to predict individual outcome and to define
therapy beneficial for individual heart patients.

The PhD student is expected to work on the following main
tasks:
(1) Reviewing, analyzing, and adapting state-of-the-art
data-mining approaches for feature selection, feature
construction, bio-marker discovery, and classification;
(2) Discovering multiple biomarker panels for heart
patients;
(3) Predicting outcome and defining therapy for individual
patients.

Requirements

The PhD student is expected to meet the following requirements:

* A master’s degree (or equivalent) in Computer Science,
Statistics, Data Mining, or a related field, with a
strong interest in feature selection/construction, and
bio-marker discovery;
* Programming skills: Java/C, Matlab;
* An enthusiastic and cooperative working attitude;
* Good didactic abilities.
* Excellent proficiency in written and spoken English.

Conditions of employment

MaastrichtUniversityare set out in the Collective Labour Agreement
of Dutch Universities (CAO). Furthermore, local UM provisions also
apply. For more information look at the website
www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/, A-Z Terms of Employment.

Monthly gross salary during the first year will be: 2,042 euros and
during the fourth year 2,612 euros

Employment basis: 4 years Maximum hours per week: 38

Contract Type: Temporary for 48 months

Organization

Maastricht University (UM) is renowned for its unique, innovative,
problem-based learning system, which is characterized by a
small-scale and student-oriented approach. Research at UM is
characterized by a multidisciplinary and thematic approach, and
is concentrated in research institutes and schools. Maastricht
University has around 14,000 students and 3,500 employees. Reflecting
the university’s strong international profile, a fair amount of both
students and staff are from abroad. The university is comprised of
6 faculties: Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Faculty
of Law, School of Business and Economics, Faculty of Humanities and
Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Faculty of Psychology
and Neuroscience.

http://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/

Department

Departement of Knowledge Engineering (DKE)

www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/web/Schools/DKE.htm

Research group BioMathematics and BioInformatics (BMI) within DKE:

www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/web/Schools/DKE/Thema/Research/BMI.htm

Additional information about the vacancy can be obtained from:

Dr. Evgueni Smirnov
Tel.: +31 43 38 82023
Email: smirnov(at)maastrichtuniversity.nl