PhD scholarship in Radiotherapy

Choosing the optimal radiotherapy technique for cancer patients includes technical, patient-specific, and resource factors that are not always well understood. The aim is to clarify these factors to choose the optimal technique for patients treated with advanced stereotactic body radiotherapy.

At the radiotherapy clinic at Herlev Hospital we treat approximately 3.500 cancer patients with radiotherapy each year. Some of these patients are treated with Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT) i.e., high-precision, high-dose per fraction radiotherapy. We have several advanced techniques available to deliver these treatments. These include techniques such as using implanted gold markers to track the anatomy during treatment, adaptive radiotherapy where the treatment is tailored to the patient geometry at each fraction, and breath hold techniques minimizing motion due to breathing. We use either cone beam-CT or MRI imaging at each fraction to position the patients correctly, to monitor the patient anatomy, and/or to adapt the treatments to the daily anatomy. While it is an advantage to have access to several advanced treatment options, choosing the optimal treatment option is not always straight forward. Factors to consider include minimizing the burden for patients, maximizing the clinical result, optimizing the use of the available equipment and staff resources, technical limitations, etc. We need a systematic and evidence-based approach where these choices can be handled in a busy clinic in an optimal way for both the patients and the hospital. The aim of this Ph.D. position is to quantify the uncertainties of the different approaches and to test and define the technical details of how to best utilize the techniques in combination. You will be employed in the radiotherapy research Unit at Herlev Hospital and work in close collaboration with the other Ph.D.-students and clinical staff including physicians, nurses/radiographers (RTTs), and physicists/engineers.

Responsibilities and qualifications You will play a key role in defining and testing procedures for SBRT treatments for different tumor locations. This includes dose planning studies, technical studies on feasibility and limitations of different systems e.g. surface scanning, and analysis of patient data. You may be involved:

• Writing in clinical protocols
• Implementing clinical workflows
• Reporting, summarizing, and analysis of results.

You will utilize different software e.g. dose planning systems and analysis tools e.g. Matlab, Python and/or R. You must be able to read and write scientific papers in English. The ability to speak and write in Danish is a plus.

You must have a two-year master’s degree (120 ECTS points) or a similar degree with an academic level equivalent to a two-year master’s degree. You must be a physicist or engineer with some basic physics background. Experience and/or knowledge in radiotherapy or medical physics is a strong advantage.

Approval and Enrolment The scholarship for the PhD degree is subject to academic approval, and the candidate will be enrolled in one of the general degree programs at DTU. For information about our enrolment requirements and the general planning of the PhD study program, please see DTU’s rules for the PhD education.

We offer Herlev Hospital delivers high-end SBRT treatments to our patients and have highly advanced and modern equipment and techniques at our disposal. We offer the opportunity to gain experience with and help optimize these techniques. Interdisciplinary teamwork is essential in both our research and daily clinical practice. Currently we have both RTT-, physicist-, and physician Ph.D. students at the Radiotherapy research Unit and we strive to have an inclusive, open, and friendly working environment.

DTU is a leading technical university globally recognized for the excellence of its research, education, innovation, and scientific advice. We offer a rewarding and challenging job in an international environment. We strive for academic excellence in an environment characterized by collegial respect and academic freedom tempered by responsibility.

Salary and appointment terms The appointment will be based on the collective agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. The allowance will be agreed upon with the relevant union. The period of employment is 3 years. Starting date is preferable around September/October 1st, but we are somewhat flexible depending on the wish of the successful candidate. The position is a full-time position.

Further information Further information may be obtained from Claus P. Behrens, DTU Health Tech and Herlev Hospital: Claus.Behrens@regionh.dk, or https://www.dtu.dk/person/claus-p-behrens?id=174762&entity=profile

Application procedure Your complete online application must be submitted no later than Thursday May 29th, 2025. (23:59 Danish time). Interviews will be the following weeks.

You may apply prior to obtaining your master’s degree but cannot begin before having received it.

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

All interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, disability, race, religion or ethnic background are encouraged to apply. As DTU works with research in critical technology, which is subject to special rules for security and export control, open-source background checks may be conducted on qualified candidates for the position.

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