Prof Fred Claeyssens, Dr E Figallo, Prof G Reilly
No more applications being accepted
Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)
About the Project
SPINNER is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Innovative Training Networks (ITN) European Industrial Doctorate (EID) aimed at improving treatments for spine disorders.
SPINNER is recruiting a group of six Bioengineering early stage researchers (ESRs) to be in a position to design the next generation of repair materials and techniques for spine surgery. The project brings together partners from the biomaterials, implantable devices, and computational modelling industries with orthopaedic clinicians and academic experts in cell, tissue and organ scale biomaterials and medical device testing. All projects will be fully grounded in practical industrial and clinical requirements, where the number of patients requiring complex spine surgery is rapidly expanding, and the biomedical engineering industry needs suitably trained, innovators to produce economic solutions to support healthy ageing for the people of Europe.
SPINNER is an academic/ clinical/ industrial partnership and the ESRs will be expected to interact with several partners during their three years of research. The partners are:
University of Sheffield, UK
University of Bologna, Italy
Finceramica, Italy
National Center for Spinal Disorders, Hungary
Ansys, France
ADAGOS, France
Aesculap, Germany
For more information, please visit www.spinner-eid.eu.
The ESRs will be recruited for 36 months and be enrolled onto a PhD programme at one of the academic partner institutions. They will expect to spend at least 18 months at a non-academic partner institution.
ESR2: Development of osteoinductive coatings for spinal implants (fusion cages)
Start Date: 01-September-2018
Host institution: University of Sheffield, UK
This ESR will join Insigneo the institute for in silico medicine and will be affiliated with the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.
Industrial Secondment: Finceramica, Italy
Objectives: To develop an osteoinductive coating for cages used in spinal fusion, through exploring the antibacterial properties of multisubstituted apatite.
Required Skills: This ESR should have or be close to obtaining an Undergraduate degree in Bioengineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Chemistry or a related discipline. Basic knowledge of ceramic biomaterials and processing, methodologies for chemical/physical characterisation of biomaterials, statistical methods and experience of cell culture is desirable. Chemical laboratory experience is required. The ESR should show highly collaborative attitude, excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Acquired skills: this ESR will specialise in hydroxyapatite based regenerative materials and devices for orthopaedic application. The ESR will have the opportunity to develop research and technical skills in biological (cell viability) and physico/chemical characterisation of biomaterials (i.e. thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), morphological evaluation by SEM, ICP spectrometry, enzymatic degradation test, mechanical testing), materials characterisation techniques (for example, mechanical testing and elemental analysis) and basic knowledge of in vitro biological testing. Training will include assessment of mechanical competence at different scales, also in relation to revision of joint replacement. The ESR will acquire project management, communication and analytical skills by working in close collaboration with different steps in product development (production, quality assurance/regulatory, marketing) as described by design control principles.
Employability: the profile of this ESR will make him/her employable at medical device companies developing or commercialising class III products for tissue regeneration particularly in the orthopaedic field.
Informal enquiries: Fred Claeyssens ([Email Address Removed]) or Elisa Figallo ([Email Address Removed]).
Language Requirements: International English Language Test System (IELTS) 6.5 Overall, with a minimum of 6 in each category.
Benefits
The MSCA programme offers highly competitive and attractive salary and working conditions. The successful candidates will receive a salary in accordance with the MSCA regulations for early stage researchers. Exact salary will be confirmed upon appointment [Living Allowance = 3,700 euro/year (correction factor to be applied per country) + Monthly mobility allowance = 600 to 850 euro depending on the family situation]. In addition to their individual scientific projects, all ESRs will benefit from further continuing education, which includes internships and secondments, a variety of training modules as well as transferable skills courses and active participation in workshops and conferences. The approximate gross salary stated above is subject to employers statutory deductions and the amount varies according to the living costs of the host country.
PhD fees will be covered by the project grant.
Overseas (non-EU) applicants
Overseas applicants are welcome; please indicate in the application form if you require the host institution to sponsor your work visa.
NB: Applicants for this post must also apply through the University of Sheffield process found at: https://tinyurl.com/y85xyj7r.
Funding Notes
The following eligibility criteria apply for these positions:
Mobility: To be eligible for a position, you must not have resided in the same country as the host institution for more than 12 months over the three years leading up to the start date of the position, excluding holidays and (refugee status) asylum application.
Early Stage Researcher: An Early Stage Researcher (ESR) shall at the time of recruitment by the host organisation, be in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience) of their research careers and have not been awarded a doctoral degree.
Overseas applicants are welcome.
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