High Performance Computing to Analyze Images for Automated Cancer Diagnosis

Department for Employment and Learning (DEL) funded PhD Studentship in collaboration with PathXL Ltd

The project available is in the Computer Science Research Institute (in collaboration with PathXL) and is tenable in the Faculty of Computing and Engineering at Jordanstown Campus. Applications are invited for the following DEL CAST studentship (Co-operative Awards in Science and Technology):

This is a three year DEL-CAST studentship (Department for Employment and Learning) based at the School of Computing and Mathematics, Jordanstown, University of Ulster, in collaboration with PathXL Ltd (Northern Ireland Science Park, Belfast). It is envisaged that the student will spend at least three months per year for the duration of their research program with the collaborating body. The studentship provides a bursary, plus basic travel expenses and would suit a graduate with a Computing-based discipline, Bioinformatics or Electronic Engineering background.

BACKGROUND
To determine if a tissue or lump is cancerous biopsies are often performed on patients. This involves the removal of a small sample of the suspicious tissue for further analysis. These tissue samples can be digitized and analyzed by a pathologist who checks for cancerous cells and makes a diagnosis. However, this manual process of diagnosing is subjective and prone to errors. To address this, image analysis techniques have been developed to detect tumors and aid in diagnosing various type of cancer such as breast, lung and pancreas. This is a computationally intensive process. A key challenge therefore is the development of high performance computing environments, which address processing bottlenecks to allow for high-throughput analysis of tissue samples.

The successful PhD candidate will benefit from working with a team in which there exists extensive experience in the areas of medicine, tissue analysis, image processing and high performance computing. These interactions will provide the student with a strong set of research and technical skills to complete a successful and expeditious research program.

Further information available from Dr Fiona Browne - [Email Address Removed] or Dr Jim Diamond [Email Address Removed]

Applicants should hold ordinary UK residence to be eligible for both fees and maintenance. Non UK residents who hold ordinary EU residence may also apply but if successful will receive fees only. 
All applicants should hold a first or upper second class honours degree in Software Engineering, Computer Science, Electronic Engineering, or Bioinformatics. Successful candidates will enroll on a full-time research program, of up to three years subject to satisfactory progress, leading to the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

The studentship will comprise tuition fees and a maintenance award (subject to UK residence status) of not less than £15,000 per annum, funded by DEL (the Department for Employment & Learning in NI) and PathXL Ltd. The closing date for receipt of completed applications is 20th February 2015

Interviews will be held in March 2015

For further information on the application process please visit our website: http://research.ulster.ac.uk/info/prospective/apply.html

Apply online www.ulster.ac.uk/applyonline