EPSRC DTP studentship: The Beat Goes On: developing ultra-fast MRI techniques to measure pulsatile blood flow and arterial stiffness in the brain

The School of Physics and Astronomy at Cardiff University is delighted to offer fully funded EPSRC studentships starting in January 2025.

Ultra-fast magnetic resonance (MR) imaging offers a unique opportunity to measure pulsatile blood flow and brain artery stiffness. The brain’s blood vessels are elastic, providing protection by The School of Physics and Astronomy at Cardiff University is delighted to offer fully funded EPSRC studentships starting in October 2024.

Ultra-fast magnetic resonance (MR) imaging offers a unique opportunity to measure pulsatile blood flow and brain artery stiffness. The brain’s blood vessels are elastic, providing protection by soaking up energy from cardiac pulsations. However, over a lifetime, the force of the heartbeat damages vessels and causes stiffening, leading to neurological problems such as dementia. Currently, no clinical imaging techniques measure brain artery stiffness. This project will take advantage of cutting-edge MR physics to facilitate a step change in imaging capabilities.

Building on a recently patented technique, we have developed a single-slice MR imaging method called DIMAC to measure pulsatile blood flow and pulse wave velocity. Sensitivity is limited by image acquisition speed, currently 15ms, and increases exponentially as this time reduces. In this studentship, you will address the need for ultra-fast imaging by going beyond standard cartesian k-space trajectories: taking advantage of the image sparsity to implement the latest MR physics techniques in radial acquisition, compressed sensing and multiband imaging to provide an ultra-fast MR sequence highly sensitive to pulsatile flow in small brain vessels.

 Project goals:

1.     Increase imaging temporal resolution to improve flow sensitivity

2.     Improve spatial resolution to characterise smaller brain vessels

3.     Develop (semi-)automated planning methods to improve clinical feasibility

Project timeline:

Year 0-1: Training (MRI physics, sequence programming); implement radial k-space trajectories.

Year 1-2: Training (MR scanner operation); Implement compressed sensing techniques; compare/combine with radial techniques in-vivo.

Year 2-3.5 Expand compressed sensing-guided radial acquisition to include multiband methods for further acceleration. Determine optimal slice planning strategy for clinical feasibility.

The results will be disseminated through journal papers and international conferences.

This project would suit students interested in applying advanced MR physics to neuroscience. You will work at the vibrant and diverse Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC); a multidisciplinary environment, housing physicists, engineers, neuroscientists, psychologists and clinicians. You will access state-of-the-art MRI scanners and get training/hands-on experience with MR sequence programming, machine learning and human data collection, preparing you for an exciting career in research or industry. You will freely access over 350 Doctoral Academy training courses to develop yourself professionally and personally. You will attend seminars/journal clubs at CUBRIC and national/international conferences. Through regular lab meetings, you will learn about the ethical/legal considerations of working with human data, discuss the societal impacts of our research, and take part in our wider PPI (patient and public involvement) and public engagement initiatives. 

How to apply:

Applicants should apply to the Doctor of Philosophy in Physics and Astronomy with a start date of 1st January 2025. 

Applicants should submit an application for postgraduate study via the Cardiff University webpages (https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/research/programmes/programme/physics-and-astronomy) including: 

• your academic CV (Guidance on CVs for a PhD position can be found on the FindAPhD website)

• Your degree certificates and transcripts to date including certified translations if these are not in English 

• two references, at least one of which should be academic. Your references can be emailed by the referee to physics-admissions@cardiff.ac.uk  

Please note: We are do not contact referees directly for references for each applicant due to the volume of applications we receive.  

 • personal statement (as part of the university application form, or as a separate attachment, if you prefer. It has to provide a clear explanation of your research interest, preparation undertaken, and an understanding of the project. 

Your personal statement should be no more than 500 words, and address the following questions:

1. What are your scientific research interests and ambition? 

2. How has your academic and/or professional journey prepared you for PhD study? (for instance, give examples of work you particularly enjoyed, of challenges you overcame, of connecting with others about your work or ideas, of showing inventiveness, of developing new skills and knowledge)

3. Why do you think this project is important?”

The typical academic requirement is a minimum of a 2:1 physics and astronomy or a relevant discipline. 

Applicants whose first language is not English are normally expected to meet the minimum University requirements (e.g. IELTS 6.5 Overall with 5.5 minimum in sub-scores) (https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/international/english-language-requirements) 

In the “Research Proposal” section of your application, please specify the project title and supervisors of this project.

In the funding section, please select that you will not be self-funding and write that the source of funding will be EPSRC. 

Once the deadline for applications has passed, we will review your application and advise you within a few weeks if you have been shortlisted for an interview. 

Eligibility :

EPSRC DTP studentships are available to home and international students. Up to 30% of our cohort can comprise international students, once the limit has been reached we are unable to make offers to international students. International students will not be charged the fee difference between the UK and international rate. Applicants should satisfy the UKRI eligibility requirements.

For more information, or if there are any questions, please contact Physics and Astronomy PGR Student Support team at Physics-PG@cardiff.ac.uk

Please also check the following link: https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/funding/research-councils/epsrc-studentships