We are seeking a PhD student with excellent programming skills and an interest in biology. The studentship will be based at Newcastle University (UK) and benefit from collaboration with CERN.

Interested in computers as well as biology? Then this project might be what you are looking for! The aim is to use novel software and high-performance computers to model how biological tissue, including neural tissue, behaves during freezing and thawing. 

Cryopreservation of biological tissue is in its infancy. State-of-the-art freezing and thawing techniques lead to tissue damage in anything larger than 1-3 mm3. Above-freezing storage times of human organs range from approximately 3 to 24 hours - depending on organ - before becoming unviable. This lack of preservation capacity results in 2/3 of donor hearts and 4/5 of lungs being rejected for transplant for logistical reasons. 

By improving our knowledge of how cryogenic processing affects biological/neural tissue, new methodologies for cryogenic processing will be studied. To this end, you will work together with experts in the field, learn to incorporate the results in detailed 3D computer simulations, and produce novel hypotheses that will generate better methodologies. 

For informal enquiries please contact Dr Roman Bauer (roman.bauer@ncl.ac.uk).

Further details on this PhD studentship and how to apply can be found via this link:

https://www.findaphd.com/search/ProjectDetails.aspx?PJID=100152