Unlock the future of precision cardiology

Dr D Nickerson

Applications accepted all year round

Awaiting Funding Decision/Possible External Funding

About the Project

Are you ready to redefine how we understand heart disease? This PhD project at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute (ABI) offers a unique opportunity to sit at the intersection of cutting-edge omics data science and advanced computational physiology. Genetic disturbances, even at the level of a single ion channel, can have catastrophic consequences for the whole person. However, predicting which DNA variants lead to life-threatening arrhythmias remains one of the greatest challenges in modern medicine. This project seeks to solve that puzzle by developing a high-fidelity, multi-scale systems model of the human heart.

As a doctoral researcher, you will critically evaluate and harness diverse "big data" from international repositories. This includes exploring genomic resources such as the ClinVar database (hosted by the United States National Library of Medicine) alongside other emerging omics and functional datasets. By synthesizing these complex genetic insights with high-resolution patch-clamp data, you will bridge the gap between molecular biology and clinical cardiology. You won't just look at cells; you will build the biophysical, energy conserving, mathematical modelling framework from the molecular level to the organ level, simulating how microscopic changes in electrophysiology propagate through cardiac tissue to manifest as clinical phenotypes at the whole-person level.

This work is at the forefront of the digital twin revolution. You will develop a virtual environment to investigate the phenotypic consequences of genetic disturbances, providing a powerful platform to test how specific DNA variants affect a patient's cardiac rhythm. By joining our world-leading research environment at ABI, you will help transform the future of personalized medicine. This project is a chance to lead the charge in multi-scale cardiac modeling, turning raw genetic data into actionable physiological insight and helping to predict the functional impact of the human genome.

Desired skills

We are looking for a highly motivated candidate with a background in Bioengineering, Computational Biology, or Physics. You should have a passion for coding, a deep curiosity about human electrophysiology, and the drive to contribute to a project with real-world clinical impact. By joining our world-leading research environment at ABI, you will help transform the future of personalized cardiology, turning raw genetic data into actionable physiological insight. Apply now to lead the charge in multi-scale cardiac modelling.