ESR 8 – Developing mathematical tools for image analysis to evaluate the effects of regenerative medicine therapies on kidney function

In this position the ESR will be developing novel image processing routines and mathematical modelling tools for quantitative analysis of MRI of the kidney.  The overall goal of the project will be to apply MRI methods to accurately assess different aspects of renal function following kidney injury, and to quantify the extent to which renal function improves following the administration of mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC)-based therapies. Working collaboratively within the ITN, the ESR will be co-supervised by academics from the Institute of Translational Medicine and the Department of Mathematics within the University of Liverpool. While the major focus would be the development of analytical tools for MRI, the ESR will also have the opportunity to work with complementary imaging  technologies including multi spectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT), positron emission tomography (PET) and single positron emission computed tomography (SPECT).

The ESR develop will skills in the following areas:

  • Preclinical MRI of the mouse kidney
  • Developing tracer kinetic modelling of imaging data
  • Developing image processing and analysis tools including image registration and segmentation
  • Multi-scale modelling for accurately assessing different aspects of renal function simultaneously.