PhD Position for AI-based Clinical Decision-making at Intensive Care Units

Can we develop AI-based decision making solutions that support the surgical team to make faster and better decisions during a major surgery? Can we predict deterioration in hospitalized patients at intensive care units (ICUs) using deep learning? The Quantitative Healthcare Analysis (qurAI) group at the Informatics Institute, Faculty of Science, is seeking a PhD candidate to address these questions.

What are you going to do

Intensive care units (ICUs), such as neonatal ICUs or surgical ICUs, are data-intensive environments, where intensivists must cope with a relentless flow of information to make fast and accurate decisions. This information, ranging from vital signs, continuous waveforms, demographics and test results, needs to be processed, combined and analysed to make fast and accurate decisions on which patients’ life depends.  In this project we will investigate if AI models can analyse this data and provide decision-making support.

As part of your PhD, you will develop new deep learning solutions for the analysis of different waveforms, such as blood pressure waves or thromboelastograms, to diagnose the current status of the patient, predict medical complications or conditions, and make decision about suitable treatments and actions. Specifically, you will address the challenges of creating robust decision-making algorithms with missing data and providing clinical-based interpretability of the obtained decisions.

You will be embedded in the qurAI group, an interfaculty, multidisciplinary group between the Institute of Informatics (IvI) of the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Physics of the Amsterdam University Medical Centre (AUMC). We focus on the development, validation and clinical integration of AI solutions for data analysis challenges in healthcare. The group aims at designing and enabling socially responsible AI innovations in healthcare.

You will work under the supervision of Prof. Clarisa Sánchez from qurAI, who will also serve as your promotor. You will also work in close collaboration with Prof. Alexander Vlaar and his group at the department of Intensive Care Medicine of AUMC. The project is defined within the Research Priory Area (RPA) AI for health decision-making at UvA. This RPA aims at conducting interdisciplinary research regarding responsible AI-driven health decision-making by joining expertise from AI, ethics, law and medicine.

You will:

• research AI-based clinical decision-making, by developing new deep learning solutions for the analysis of waveforms obtained at ICUs;
• publish and present your work in journals and international conferences;
• be an active part of the qurAI and RPA group and their activities;
• assist in educational activities and supervision of bachelor and master students.

What do we require of you

• A Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, Engineering or a related subject.
• Previously demonstrated interest in artificial intelligence and medical data analysis, in the form of coursework, projects and academic publications, and an affinity with medical topics.
• Excellent programming skills, particularly in Python and ML-related libraries.
• High motivation in pursuing academic research.
• Fluency in English, both written and spoken.

A temporary contract for 38 hours per week for the duration of four years (the initial contract will be for a period of 18 months and after satisfactory evaluation it will be extended for a total duration of four years). This should lead to a dissertation (PhD thesis). We will draft an educational plan that includes attendance of courses and (international) meetings. We also expect you to assist in teaching undergraduates and master students.

Your salary ranges between €2,434 to €3,111 gross per month on the basis of a full working week of 38 hours. This sum does not include the 8% holiday allowance and the 8.3% year-end allowance. The Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU) is applicable.

Are you curious about our extensive package of secondary employment benefits like our excellent opportunities for study and development? Take a look here.

 

With over 6,000 employees, 30,000 students and a budget of more than 600 million euros, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) is an intellectual hub within the Netherlands. Teaching and research at the UvA are conducted within seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Law, Science, Medicine and Dentistry. Housed on four city campuses in or near the heart of Amsterdam, where disciplines come together and interact, the faculties have close links with thousands of researchers and hundreds of institutions at home and abroad.  

The UvA’s students and employees are independent thinkers, competent rebels who dare to question dogmas and aren’t satisfied with easy answers and standard solutions. To work at the UvA is to work in an independent, creative, innovative and international climate characterised by an open atmosphere and a genuine engagement with the city of Amsterdam and society.

The Faculty of Science has a student body of around 7,000, as well as 1,600 members of staff working in education, research or support services. Researchers and students at the Faculty of Science are fascinated by every aspect of how the world works, be it elementary particles, the birth of the universe or the functioning of the brain.

The mission of the Informatics Institute is to perform curiosity-driven and use-inspired fundamental research in Computer Science. The main research themes are Artificial Intelligence, Computational Science and Systems and Network Engineering. Our research involves complex information systems at large, with a focus on collaborative, data driven, computational and intelligent systems, all with a strong interactive component

 

The PhD student will be embedded in the newly formed qurAI group lead by prof Clarisa Sánchez and prof Ivana Isgum, an interfaculty group embedded in the Faculties of Medicine (Department of Biomedical Engineering and Physics - BMEP) and Science (Institute of Informatics -IvI) of the UvA, with strong ties with clinical department at the Amsterdam University Medical Centres (Amsterdam UMCs) as well as close collaborations with parties as the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI). In qurAI we focus on the development and clinical implementation of socially responsible AI innovations in healthcare, so as to become an indispensable part of the Amsterdam ecosystem in the field of AI and healthcare.

Want to know more about our organisation? Read here more about working at the University of Amsterdam.