therapy (ADT) for prostate cancer patients is known to reduce bone mineral density and we have recently shown that ADT reduces the vertebral strength even before the appearance of metastatic lesions [1]. Recently, the development of CT scanners that use photon counting detectors (PCCT) is revolutionising the way CT imaging is done, thanks to their higher resolution and lower radiation dose. Therefore, PCCT has great potential in evaluating early changes in bone mineral density and microstructure that could lead to high risk of fracture. Nevertheless, considering the relatively new development of PCCT, there isn’t yet a standardised protocol for scanning the spine of cancer patients to identify bone lesions and bone changes induced by the tumour or the related treatments. This PhD project, linked to the METASTRA and SPIRO projects at the Insigneo institute of the University of Sheffield, aims at optimising PCCT scans of the spine of kidney and prostate cancer patients, and to compare the outcomes from CT and PCCT, to clarify the potential of PCCT in managing these patients. Moreover, depending on the candidate’s background and interests, the project will also explore the development of biomechanical assessment of vertebral strength using computational models based on CT [2,3] or PCCT.
Proposed start date: 01 March 2027
Entry Requirements
Candidates must have a first or upper second class honours degree or significant research experience. In addition, candidates must be self motivated, have the ability to think independently, use own initiative, have good communications skills and be well organised including good time management. Experience in biomechanics and/or image processing would be desirable but not essential.
How to apply
Please complete a University Postgraduate Research Application form available here: www.shef.ac.uk/postgraduate/research/apply
Funding Notes
This opportunity is for self-funded applicants who are able to fund this themselves, or obtain funding from another source (Government sponsored etc).
This project is for 3.5 years, so applicants will be required to fund 3.5 years of tuition fees and an additional £1500 per year for 3.5 years to run the project.
This is open to both home and overseas applicants.
References
- Strong correlation between phantomless and inline phantom-based densitometric calibration of vertebral properties from CT scans of healthy volunteers. Gibson FG, Ding Z, Paggiosi MA, Handforth C, Brown JE, Li X, Dall'Ara E, Verbruggen SW. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2026 May 29;14:1781532. doi:10.3389/fbioe.2026.1781532.
- Assessing the reproducibility of a subject-specific finite element modelling pipeline for the human metastatic vertebrae. Roger R, Ghosh R, Cai Y, Gibson F, Lazáry Á, Guo L, Lacroix D, Dall'Ara E. Sci Rep. 2026 Apr 7;16(1):16092. doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-46900-4
- Prediction of compressive strength of vertebral body with metastatic lesions based on quantitative computed tomography-based subject-specific finite element models. Ghosh R, Shearman E, Roger R, Palanca M, Dall'Ara E, Lacroix D. Bone. 2026 Jun 6;211:117961. doi: 10.1016/j.bone.2026.117961.
