PhD fellowship/scholarship, Integrating Hormonal and Biomechanical Stimuli in Multi-scale Modelling of human Vascular cells

Applicants are invited for a PhD fellowship/scholarship at Graduate School of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University, Denmark, within the Mechanical and Production Engineering programme. The position is available from 01 March 2027 or later. You can submit your application via the link under 'how to apply'.

Title:
Integrating Hormonal and Biomechanical Stimuli in Multi-scale Modelling of human Vascular cells

Research area and project description:
As part of the ERC Starting Grant project DISSEX, which aims at developing a sex-aware multiscale framework to predict vascular dissection risk, we are looking for a highly motivated PhD candidate to join our multi-disciplinary Cardiovascular Engineering (CareEng) group at Aarhus University. This PhD project specifically aims at quantifying how human coronary arteries respond to systemic hormonal fluctuations and biomechanical stress through both experimental and computational techniques. There are 2 objectives.

Objective 1: Experimental investigation of vascular adaptation
The candidate will use innovative microfluidic platforms and ex vivo human coronary arteries to recreate physiological and pathological vascular environments. By exposing vascular tissues to controlled flow, pressure, and hormone profiles representative of daily fluctuations in estradiol, cortisol, and testosterone, the project will quantify how endothelial and smooth muscle cells respond in terms of proliferation, apoptosis, signalling, and biomechanical function. Particular attention will be given to endothelial pathways involving nitric oxide and endothelin-1, providing a unique dataset on how systemic and mechanical stimuli jointly influence vascular health.

Objective 2: Development of a multiscale computational model
Building on the experimental findings, the candidate will develop a multiscale computational framework linking cellular activity to vessel-scale biomechanics. Combining agent-based modelling with computational fluid dynamics, the model will integrate hormonal regulation, cellular adaptation, and biomechanical stresses within the vascular wall. The resulting digital platform will enable mechanistic investigation of vascular remodelling processes and provide a foundation for understanding conditions that may predispose arteries to dissection.

The PhD candidate will join an interdisciplinary team bringing together expertise in vascular physiology, Cardiovascular biomechanics, microfluidics and fabrication; computational modelling, and clinical cardiovascular medicine. The project includes close collaboration with clinicians, biologists, and engineers and provides access to state-of-the-art laboratory and computational research facilities.

Qualifications and specific competences:
We are looking for highly motivated and independent candidates with the intention to complete a 3-year PhD at Aarhus University. The ideal candidate is expected to have most of the following qualifications:

• Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering, Biomechanical Engineering, Biotechnology or relevant fields.
• In-depth knowledge in fluid mechanics and cardiovascular applications.
• Experience with cell culture and tissue engineering
• Familiarity with numerical modelling (CFD), and software such as COMSOL, SimVascular, or similar software
• (optional) Previous exposure to agent-based modelling or systems biology
• excellent written and spoken English (optional Danish).
  
  Place of employment and place of work:
  The place of employment is Aarhus University, and the place of work is Department of Mechanical and Production Engineering, Aarhus University, Katrinebjergvej 89F, 8200 Aarhus N.

Contacts:
Applicants seeking further information regarding the PhD position are invited to contact:

• Mahdi Abkar, e-mail: abkar@mpe.au.dk (main supervisor)
• Monika Colombo, e-mail: mc@mpe.au.dk (co-supervisor)

For information about application requirements and mandatory attachments, please see our application guide. If answers cannot be found there, please contact:

• admission.gradschool.tech@au.dk

How to apply:
Please follow this link to submit your application.

Application deadline is 30 November 2026 at 23:59 CET.
Preferred starting date is 01 March 2027.

For technical reasons, you must upload a project description. Please copy the project description above and upload it as a PDF in the application.

Please note:

• Only documents received prior to the application deadline will be evaluated. Thus, documents sent after deadline will not be considered.
• The programme committee may request further information or invite the applicant to attend an interview.
• Shortlisting will be used, which means that the evaluation committee only will evaluate the most relevant applications.

Formalities and salary range
Salary and terms as agreed between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Confederation of Professional Unions. You will be employed as an academic staff member at basic salary grades 4–8. As a PhD fellow you will also receive a monthly non-pensionable allowance.

Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which everyone has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants.

The application must be submitted via the online recruitment system, which can be accessed under ‘How to apply’.