"PhD candidate on the project AI PRECISE"

Job Description

Work on personalized bladder cancer care with AI. Combine image and RNA data, develop innovative models, and contribute to better treatment choices and quality of life for patients.

A precise risk stratification for high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (HR-NMIBC) remains a challenge. This often leads to under- or overtreatment. Personalized, bladder-sparing therapies are currently not available, resulting in patients often undergoing a drastic bladder removal with a significant impact on their quality of life. RNA-based molecular subtypes could potentially contribute to better risk stratification, but are rarely applied in clinical practice due to high costs and long processing times.

In this PhD research, you will develop innovative AI methods that combine histopathological images with RNA-sequencing data to predict molecular subtypes of bladder cancer. The ultimate goal is to identify new therapeutic targets, which will be validated using bladder cancer organoids. You will be the first to develop reliable and comprehensive AI models for subtype prediction, with direct impact on clinical decision-making and personalized treatment strategies.

This project, funded by NWO, builds on the European CLARIFY project and is carried out in collaboration with a postdoc, a PhD candidate, and a lab technician. You will work closely with clinicians to formulate clinically relevant research questions, digitize pathology data, and focus primarily on medical image analysis and AI development.

The project is a collaboration between Radboudumc, ProBCI (Dutch Bladder Cancer Infrastructure), and IKNL (Integraal Kankercentrum Nederland). The position starts in the fourth quarter of 2025, at the latest in January 2026.

Requirements

You are an independent, motivated researcher with an MSc or MEng in Biomedical Technology, Nano Biology, Medical Informatics, Clinical/Biomedical Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, or a similar field.

Excellent command of the English language is required. A background in biomedical sciences is an advantage. Experience with medical image processing, histopathology, computer vision, machine learning, and programming (preferably in Python) is highly desirable. You can communicate effectively with clinicians and researchers from various disciplines.

Employment Conditions

A temporary position for 4 years. A gross monthly salary starts at €3,108 and ends at €3,939 in your fourth year (scale OIO) for a full-time workweek of 36 hours. A 13th month paid in November and a travel allowance, for example, 100% public transport reimbursement for a single journey of at least 7 km. A pension insurance with ABP, where we pay 70% of your pension premium. We also offer a gym, bike repair service, and free physiotherapy.

Employer

Your research will take place within the departments of Urology, Pathology, and Clinical Bioinformatics at Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, in close collaboration with the Computational Pathology Group at Radboudumc in Nijmegen. Supervision is provided by Tahlita Zuiverloon (MD PhD, associate professor), Martijn Starmans (PhD, assistant professor), Farhan Akram (PhD, assistant professor) from Erasmus MC, and Geert Litjens (PhD, professor) from Radboudumc.