PhD Candidate in Computational Cardiology

Welcome to Maastricht University!
Unravel the complexity of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction using Digital Twin technology. Help to transform how cardiologists decide when and how to treat patients through personalized computer simulations.

Are you passionate about bridging computational modeling with clinical cardiology to solve real-world healthcare challenges? We're seeking a PhD candidate to develop innovative Digital Twin technology that will help clinicians make critical treatment decisions for patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

PhD Candidate in Computational Cardiology

• Our goal: The Challenge You'll Tackle   
  Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) affects millions worldwide yet remains one of cardiology's most stubborn puzzles. Many patients have no symptoms at rest but struggle during exercise, the underlying disease mechanisms are poorly understood, key diagnostic measurements require invasive procedures, and treatment options remain limited. In this project, you'll extend our Digital Twin technology to unravel these mechanisms, non-invasively estimate diagnostic indices that today require a catheter, and virtually test treatment strategies.
• Your colleagues: A Unique Dual-University Experience 
  You'll be based at Maastricht University's Computational Cardiology group within the Department of Biomedical Engineering - the team behind the CircAdapt framework, one of the leading tools for personalized cardiac simulation worldwide. You'll work closely with a multidisciplinary group of PhD candidates, postdocs, and professors, and collaborate with clinical partners at University Medical Center Utrecht who will provide the real-world patient data your models will be built on and validated against.

Your Mission
You'll develop patient-specific computational models - "Digital Twins" - that simulate how individual hearts respond to different treatments. 
Working at the intersection of biomedical engineering, computational modeling, and clinical cardiology, you'll:

• Extend the internationally recognized CircAdapt cardiovascular modeling platform to accurately simulate the complex and diverse disease substrates in the HFpEF spectrum in rest and in exercise.
• Develop and improve state-of-the-art personalization algorithms to include multimodal clinical data into the Digital Twin.
• Create personalized simulations that predict key hemodynamic indices otherwise invasively obtained.
• Validate your Digital Twin predictions against real-world measurements from clinical registries obtained from University Medical Center Utrecht. 

Your Impact
Your work will directly address an urgent clinical need, potentially transforming how thousands of heart failure patients are treated. By creating a validated framework for generating Digital Twins, you'll help clinicians to better understand the HFpEF phenotypes, non-invasively estimate important hemodynamic indices, and investigate which therapy is the optimal strategy for each phenotype. 

Join Us in Shaping the Future of Cardiac Care
This PhD position offers more than just research training – it's an opportunity to develop technology that will directly improve patient lives. 

If you're ready to tackle complex clinical challenges through innovative computational approaches and want your research to make a real difference in healthcare, we want to hear from you.

Requirements
Success in this project will rely on collaboration and perseverance, uniting biomedical engineering, cardiovascular physiology, and clinical cardiology. 
You should have:

• Master's degree in (Biomedical/Mechanical) Engineering, Technical Medicine, Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, or related field.
• Strong interest in cardiovascular physiology and computational modeling.
• Programming experience (preferably Python, or similar).
• Enthusiasm for interdisciplinary collaboration and clinical translation.
• Excellent communication skills for working across technical and medical domains.

Prior experience with cardiovascular modeling, medical imaging analysis, or clinical research is advantageous but not required – we value curiosity and dedication to learning above all.

What we offer
At Maastricht University, you’ll work in an international, open, and engaged environment. We offer:

• A 12-month contract (1.0 FTE) with the prospect of a 3-year extension upon positive evaluation.
• A gross monthly salary between €3059,00 and €3881,00 (based on full-time employment of 38 hours per week), in accordance with the CAO NU, plus 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% year-end bonus.
• 29 vacation days (based on full-time), four additional public holidays, and the possibility to accrue up to 12 extra days through compensation hours.
• Flexible working hours and the possibility to work partly from home, where the nature of your work allows it.
• A monthly commuting and internet allowance.
• A solid pension plan via ABP, company fitness schemes, and access to extensive university sports facilities.
• A wide range of training programmes and initiatives supporting your personal and professional development.
• An inspiring work environment in the heart of Europe.

 
About the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences (FHML)
FHML is committed to health in the broadest sense: from molecule to human, and from healthcare to prevention. We train healthcare professionals and researchers through innovative educational programmes and conduct groundbreaking research in health and well-being. As part of Maastricht UMC+ (MUMC+), our international and interdisciplinary community forms a unique collaboration between university and academic hospital, where education, research, and care come together.

Interested?
Want to know more about this position or what it’s like to work at our university? Reach out to Nick van Osta at n.vanosta@maastrichtuniversity.nl for more information.

 
The end date of the publication is 30 March 2026. 
Apply now via the button below. We look forward to getting to know you!

About Maastricht University
At Maastricht University, we collaboratively seek solutions to help move the world forward. We do this with 23,300 students and 5,400 employees across 5 regional locations, 6 faculties, and more than 70 research institutes. We encourage you to push boundaries and discover new opportunities for yourself and the world around you. Together, we can find the answers for tomorrow.

The vacancy is open for internal and external candidates. In case of equal qualifications, internal candidates will be prioritized.

At Maastricht University, we prefer to contact potential candidates directly. We therefore kindly ask that no agencies or intermediaries submit offers or approaches.

 Maastricht University is committed to promoting and nurturing a diverse and inclusive community. We believe that diversity in our staff and student population contributes to the quality of research and education at UM, and strive to enable this through inclusive policies and innovative projects led by teams of staff and students. We encourage you to apply for this position.