Multicontrast qMRI in neuroimaging

Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging (qMRI) can deliver accurate information on physiological processes in healthy and diseased tissues and is a technology of choice in the field of precision medicine. Despite this strong potential and the numerous quantitative biomarkers it provides, qMRI in neurology is not currently established in conventional radiology. The NormaBRAIN project proposes to deliver fast and reproducible qMRI sequences, to establish the normal distribution in the healthy population, and to develop automatic processing and reporting pipelines for the evaluation of the proposed framework in a context of multiple sclerosis.

The primary focus of this position is the creation of age-varying templates by modeling the biomarkers variability within the healthy population. The candidate will create innovative image processing techniques and software tools to perform single-subject comparison against the derived models. The processing framework will be developed using advanced statistical methods to analyze and understand the rich multi-parametric neuroimaging dataset generated by the project. This work will be conducted in close interaction with MRI physicists, computer scientists and clinicians to generate automated statistical markers of disease using several quantitative MRI techniques (relaxometry, magnetization transfer, magnetic susceptibility, diffusion, perfusion).

The NormaBRAIN project is part of an active collaboration between CRMBM, SIEMENS Healthineers and major French University Hospitals (Marseille and Montpellier) focusing on developing fully automatized quantitative MRI tools and pushing them to the clinical use. The impact of this project is of very high importance, as it should allow wider and improved applicability of quantitative MRI techniques into the clinic, leading to a better understanding of tissue alteration occurring in neurodegenerative diseases.

We are looking for a motivated, team-oriented candidate currently holding a Ph.D. degree in data science, physics, or biomedical engineering with a focus on AI or MR physics. Expertise in image post-processing and analysis, numerical methods and modeling is required. Proficiency in various programming/scripting languages (Python, MATLAB, bash, C/C++) is required; ability to quickly prototype in Python and bash is a must. Prior knowledge in development of innovative AI/ML tools would be advantageous but is not mandatory. Good writing and communication skills in English are required.