Image Characterisation in Medical Image Analysis and Biometrics: Department for Employment and Learning N.I. (DEL International) funded PhD Studentship in Model based Image Analysis

Applications are invited for a DEL International funded PhD studentship tenable in the Faculty of Computing and Engineering at the Jordanstown Campus.

Project Summary:
As technology advances vast amount and vast variety of data are generated at vast speed, heralding the arrival of the Big Data age. This offers new opportunities for science, business, and medicine. The big challenge is how to exploit the rich information in a sea of data. Of the different varieties of data, image data is one that offers great potential. Digital cameras are ubiquitous and generate huge amount of image data; routine image-based screening/diagnostic procedures also generate vast amount of image data. Automatically and effectively analysing such data will no doubt offer huge benefits to the society as well as cost savings to the economy. However there are still a lot of challenges in achieving this goal, one of which is automatic image characterisation – identification of distinguishing features of objects based on images. Examples include imaging biomarker extraction and (imaging) facial biometric extraction. Although extensively studied, this problem is far from solved especially when the objects of interest in images are highly deformable or when they are surrounded by irrelevant objects.
This project will study image characterisation in the context of medical image analysis (DESIREE, EU Horizon 2020 project) and biometrics (ASGARD, EU Horizon 2020 project). It will aim to develop an effective model-based framework for image characterisation that allows the utilisation of domain knowledge, which may be shape and appearance models, contours and deformable templates, probabilistic models, and exemplars. Image representation, segmentation, and deep learning will be explored.

Entrance Requirements:
All applicants should hold a first or upper second class honours degree in Computer Science, Mathematics or a cognate area. Applications will be considered on a competitive basis with regard to the candidate’s qualifications, skills experience and interests. Successful candidates will enrol as of 1 October 2016, on a full-time programme of research studies leading to the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Interviews will be held in May 2016

Keywords: image characterisation, imaging biomarker extraction, facial biometric extraction, image representation, 
image segmentation