PhD on advancing positive airway pressure therapy for sleep apnea

Introduction

Are you eager to work in a multidisciplinary team to improve sleep apnea treatment? The Biomedical Diagnostic (BM/d) Lab at the Eindhoven University of Technology (TUe) is seeking an PhD candidate to work in close collaboration the Center for Sleep Medicine Kempenhaeghe and Philips Sleep & Respiratory Care.

Job Description

Sleep is vital for health, cognitive function and emotional well-being. Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a common sleep disorder that disrupts breathing during sleep due to collapse of the upper airway, increasing health risks like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and depression, along with daytime sleepiness and accident risk.

Positive Airway Pressure (PAP) therapy is a first line treatments for OSA, and works by delivering pressurized air to keep the airway open. Traditionally, titration of optimal PAP parameters was done in sleep labs, but home titration using auto-adjusting PAP devices is gaining popularity for its convenience. However, this approach comes with the downside of not allowing measurement of objective sleep parameters that would be traditionally collected with a full polysomnographic recording if titration were done in the lab.

Improvements in objective and experienced sleep quality, and reductions in daytime symptoms all play a crucial role in adherence to PAP therapy. These are determinants of compliance, as patients struggling to sleep or those who do not experience improvements in daily function, are less likely to adhere to the therapy.

In this project, we aim to improve our understanding of the effect of PAP therapy on sleep quality and patient outcomes.

The candidate will be responsible for setting up and running a clinical data collection trial, to obtain objective and subjective measurements of sleep during the home-based auto-titration period.

Further, the candidate will explore using state-of-the-art statistical and data analysis methods, how this information relates to therapeutic outcomes, and retrospectively, how this information can be used by physicians, to provide deeper insights during this critical phase of clinical care.

Job Requirements

We are looking for an enthusiastic researcher with a background in health-related research, who enjoys working in a multidisciplinary team with academic, clinical and industrial partners. The candidate should have:

• A MSc degree (or planning to obtain MSc in the immediate future) in Medical, Health or Life Science or related relevant fields (e.g. Technical Medicine, Biomedical Signal Processing, Cognitive Neuroscience, Sleep Medicine)
• Experience in conducting biomedical trials in clinical and/or home settings using physiological parameters. Knowledge of sleep is a bonus
• A strong and demonstrable background in methodology and experienced with physiological signal processing, data analysis and statistical methods
• Can think out of the box, distinguish main lines from details, and provide structure to their work
• Excellent working and communication skills in research & clinical professional as well as patient-facing settings
• Written fluency in English, for internal reporting and external publications
• Spoken fluency in English and Dutch, for interactions with hospital staff and patients.

Conditions of Employment

A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university, in an interdisciplinary setting and within an international network. You will work on a beautiful, green campus within walking distance of the central train station. In addition, we offer you: 

• Full-time employment for four years, with an intermediate assessment after nine months. You will spend a minimum of 10% of your four-year employment on teaching tasks, with a maximum of 15% per year of your employment. 
• Salary and benefits (such as a pension scheme, paid pregnancy and maternity leave, partially paid parental leave) in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, scale P (min. € 3,059 - max. € 3,881).  
• A year-end bonus of 8.3% and annual vacation pay of 8%. 
• High-quality training programs and other support to grow into a self-aware, autonomous scientific researcher. At TU/e we challenge you to take charge of your own learning process. 
• An excellent technical infrastructure, on-campus children's day care and sports facilities.  
• An allowance for commuting, working from home and internet costs. 
• A Staff Immigration Team and a tax compensation scheme (the 30% facility) for international candidates. 

Information and application

About us

The Biomedical Diagnostics (BM/d) lab of the Signal Processing Systems (SPS) group is part of the Electrical Engineering department. The BM/d lab has a strong track record in electrophysiological signal processing, physiological modelling and quantitative analysis of biosignals, ranging from ultrasound and MRI to electrophysiology. For more information, see here.

This project will be embedded within the Eindhoven MedTech Innovation Center (e/MTIC), a public-private partnership that aims to create a fast track to high-tech-health innovations in the perinatal, cardiovascular and sleep fields. One of the central themes within e/MTIC is improved diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders. For more information, see here.

For this project we are looking for a PhD candidate who will be appointed at TU/e, but will also be embedded for part of the time at Kempenhaeghe and Philips, all located in the direct vicinity of TU/e.

Information

Do you recognize yourself in this profile and would you like to know more? Please contact the hiring manager Merel van Gilst (m.m.v.gilst@tue.nl).

Visit our website for more information about the application process or the conditions of employment. You can also contact HR Services EE (hrservices.ee@tue.nl).

Are you inspired and would like to know more about working at TU/e? Please visit our career page.

Application

We invite you to submit a complete application by using the apply button. The application should include a:

• Cover letter in which you describe your motivation and qualifications for the position.
• Curriculum vitae, including a list of your publications and the contact information of three references.

We look forward to receiving your application and will screen it as soon as possible. The vacancy will remain open until the position is filled.

Please note

• You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post. 
• A pre-employment screening (e.g. knowledge security check) can be part of the selection procedure. For more information on the knowledge security check, please consult Chapter 8 of the National Knowledge Security Guidelines.
• Please do not contact us for unsolicited services.