Postdoctoral Research Associate - Biomechanics in Bath

The Department of Engineering at Durham University is recognised as being one of the very best in the UK. In the Research Excellence Framework (REF) exercise of 2021, the Department had 95% of publications rated as 3*/4*, and all impact case studies graded 3*/4*. The Department demonstrates significant depth of research excellence across a range of disciplines, with activities that are currently concentrated around three Research Challenges (Sustainable Infrastructure, Future Energy Systems and Advanced Materials, Electronics and Communications) and eight Research Nodes which group staff under technical expertise and interest.

We are particularly proud of the collaborative interdisciplinary nature of our research, which also includes strong industrial partnerships. The strategic vision for the Department includes a major growth over the next five years, with a significant enhancement of the research challenge portfolio and a drive to enrich our undergraduate, postgraduate taught and postgraduate research provision.

We are a scholarly community that is open, supportive, collegiate, representative and diverse: our commitment to this is expressed through the work of the Department's Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing Committee, and our Athena Swan Silver Award.

Applications are invited for a Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA) position in Bioengineering at Durham University. We are seeking a highly motivated and ambitious researcher with a strong background and experience in biomechanics, finite element modelling (FEM), medical image processing, and additive manufacturing (AM).

The project will be carried out in close collaboration with Alma Mater Bologna and Great Ormond Street Hospital and is funded by the Academy of Medical Science. This post is fixed term for 21 months from 1/10/26 and will end on 30/6/28. Successful applicants will, ideally, be in post by 1/10/26.

The project, "Biomechanical Design Of Patient Specific Fixation Methods For Mandibular Reconstruction Surgery" aims at designing patient specific mandibular fixation methods (miniplates, reconstruction plates). This project will investigate the possibility of tuning the shape and mechanical properties of the implanted device using additive manufacturing, to target the patient's specific condition and obtain an optimal long term outcome.

FEM coupled with Design of Experiment (DoE) will guide the design of miniplates. Ad-hoc tuning of published mechanobiological models of bone healing will help create a robust model, able to predict long term surgical outcomes in patient specific cases. The results of the validated model will provide insight into the performance of different fixation methods and their suitability for patient-specific mandibular reconstruction. A protocol for the creation of patient specific personalised mini-plates, manufacturable using metal AM, will be designed and experimentally validated.