School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering
Organisation/Company University College Dublin
Department School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering
Research Field Engineering » Biomedical engineering Engineering » Mechanical engineering
Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1)
Positions PhD Positions
Country Ireland
Application Deadline 3 Apr 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Dublin)
Type of Contract Temporary
Job Status Full-time
Hours Per Week 39
Offer Starting Date 4 May 2026
Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Horizon Europe - ERC
Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No
Offer Description
The worldwide incidence of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) is on the rise and is most prevalent in people younger than 25 and older than 75 years. TBIs lie on a continuum from transient symptoms to fatal haemorrhages with mild TBI (mTBI) being the most common type of TBI. It is estimated that 42 million people sustain a mTBI or “concussion” worldwide each year. Current brain models used to simulate TBI and design preventative, diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic technologies have mostly been developed using adult male data. Therefore, due to the significant morphological differences between male and female brains, the lack of female specific brain models and data may be having a detrimental effect on the advancement of these technologies. Moreover, this may adversely affect progress on reducing the economic, societal, and clinical burdens of TBI.
This PhD project is part of a larger European Research Council funded project and aims to determine the role of sex specific biomechanics in the initiation and progression of TBI by developing new state-of-the-art multiscale sex specific finite element models of the human brain. This project will involve medical image analysis to extract the brain and surrounding structures, finite element mesh development, incorporating vasculature and micro-scale models, and simulating real world case studies of TBI. This is a unique challenge in TBI biomechanics with the potential to have life-saving impacts by providing overdue and novel tools to understand the differences of TBI biomechanics in men and women. The outputs of this PhD project has the potential to significantly impact our understanding of TBI. The potential gain from this project cannot be overstated, particularly in their ambition to address the inequality in research on women’s health.
Principal Duties and Responsibilities
* Work full time on their PhD project at University College Dublin.
* Engage in teaching assistance, e.g., delivering lab demonstrations to undergraduate students.
* Take part in training and development.
* Contribute to public engagement and outreach activities
Where to apply
E-mail david.macmanus1@ucd.ie
Requirements
Research Field Engineering » Mechanical engineering
Education Level Bachelor Degree or equivalent
Research Field Engineering » Mechanical engineering
Education Level Master Degree or equivalent
Skills/Qualifications
Mandatory:
* Masters degree or Primary degree (First or Upper Second Class Honours) in Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering.
* Excellent finite element modelling skills (ABAQUS, ANSYS, FEBio).
* Excellent coding skills in Python or Matlab.
* Excellent English communication skills.
* Excellent report writing skills.
* Experience with data analysis and visualization.
* Attention to detail and organisational skills.
* Ability to manage a complex workload and tight deadlines.
* Be self-motivated to work independently and as part of a team of researchers.
* Willingness to work closely with other collaborators.
* Willingness to learn new skills e.g., machine learning, coding languages, conduct experiments.
* Awareness of equality, diversity and inclusion.
Desirable:
* Experience working with computational modelling of the brain or other soft tissues.
* Experience with fitting models to data.
* Experience in mechanics of materials / constitutive modelling.
* Experience with machine learning / large datasets.
* Excellent research skills.
Languages ENGLISH Level Excellent
Additional Information
This is a fully-funded 4 year PhD position available in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Stipend: €25,000 tax-free stipend per annum, plus PhD registration fees (EU & Non-EU).
Eligibility criteria
This position is open to both EU and non-EU applicants.
Selection process
How to apply: Please send the following in PDF format to david.macmanus1@ucd.ie
* Cover letter detailing why you are interested in pursuing a PhD on this topic and how your experience to date makes you the ideal candidate (max. 2 pages).
* Your CV.
* Academic transcripts or a copy of your degree certificate.
* Contact details (email) for two academic referees. Reference letters are not required at this stage.
Closing date for applications: Please apply as soon as possible for a January 2026 start, but the position will remain open until filled.
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