PhD Studentship: Marie Sklodowska-Curie Early Stage Researcher in Clot Contraction and Thrombus Stability

Contract type: Fixed term (36 months - to complete specific time limited work.)

At the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Leeds (UoL), a PhD-position is available within the ThromboRisk project, a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Doctoral Network funded by the EU. The position is open for appointment during the course of 2026, with a duration of 36 months hosted by UoL, and includes two 3-month secondments at University of Bern (Switzerland) and University College London (UK).

We are looking for you!

Are you a creative, ambitious, hard-working, and persistent early career’s researcher? Do you want to be trained in cutting-edge experimental and computational techniques to understand how clot contraction influences thrombus stability and embolism risk? Are you excited to be part of a prestigious MSCA doctoral network that is revolutionizing personalized medicine through in-silico, in vitro, and in vivo approaches to thrombosis research? This is your chance!

This Doctoral Candidate (DC)’s first goal will be to investigate how platelet-driven clot contraction affects thrombus mechanical integrity, resistance to fibrinolysis, and embolic potential, using advanced imaging, biophysical assays, and murine models of pulmonary embolism. A second goal will consist of integrating experimental findings with in-silico models and microfluidic flow systems to explore the interplay between clot contraction, blood flow, and thrombus stability across biological scales.

Research Programme Description

ThromboRisk – European Doctoral Network From cells to systems: Pioneering multi-level thrombosis risk prediction models consortium is funded by the European Union.

ThromboRisk will develop an integrated platform to advance our understanding of thrombosis across biological scales, combining mechanobiology, biochemistry, pathophysiology, and computational modelling. For this inclusion to occur, each DC will develop through their research a unique contribution to the multi-level thrombosis risk prediction framework, addressing specific aspects of thrombus formation, growth, rupture, and clinical impact. This hands-on training is supplemented with several scientific professional courses and an immersive training program where the DCs can fine-tune their skills for the jobs of tomorrow, while addressing the societal challenges of the ThromboRisk program.  

About Universities and companies hosting this position

• The University of Leeds is one of the UK’s leading research-intensive universities, known for its excellence in biomedical and clinical research. This PhD project will be hosted within the School of Medicine, which is internationally recognised for its work in cardiovascular science, thrombosis, fibrin clot structure and inflammation. The project will be based in the Leeds Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine (LICAMM), a centre of excellence that integrates molecular, cellular, and clinical approaches to tackle major health challenges.
• University of Bern (Prof. Dominik Obrist) – The secondment will take place at the ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research, where Prof. Obrist leads the Cardiovascular Engineering group. His research focuses on biomedical fluid dynamics, particularly the simulation and experimental analysis of cardiovascular flow phenomena, including clot formation and heart valve mechanics.
• University College London (Prof. Stavroula Balabani) – The secondment will be hosted in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, where Prof. Balabani leads an experimental fluid mechanics group. Her work includes advanced microfluidic modelling of thrombosis (“thrombosis-on-a-chip”), with applications in haemodynamics, drug delivery, and cardiovascular diagnostics.

To explore the post further or for any queries you may have, please contact:

Professor Robert Ariens, Professor of Vascular Biology

Email: r.a.s.ariens@leeds.ac.uk

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