Quantitative imaging to support safe and effective radionuclide therapy in cancer

You will join the Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Research Group at KU Leuven / University Hospitals Leuven, one of the leading academic and clinical centers in molecular imaging and radionuclide therapy. The group has a strong track record in quantitative imaging and theranostics, and has contributed to landmark clinical trials such as NETTER-1 and COMPETE. Research is closely integrated with clinical care and supported by a GMP-certified Phase I unit.

To meet growing clinical and research demands, UZ Leuven is currently expanding its radionuclide therapy capacity, with treatment infrastructure expected to more than quadruple by 2027. This expansion will require advanced imaging support for accurate treatment planning, monitoring, and personalized dosimetry—areas where your PhD project will play a key role.

As a PhD student, you will be embedded in the Medical Imaging Research Center (MIRC), an interdisciplinary collaboration across KU Leuven and UZ Leuven, bringing together engineers, clinicians, physicists, and bioscientists. You will also enroll in the Health and Technology Doctoral Programme, jointly organized by the Biomedical and Engineering Doctoral Schools, which fosters research at the intersection of biomedical science and engineering.

Project

Therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals—compounds that combine radiation with molecular targeting—are developed with a primary focus on therapeutic efficacy rather than diagnostic imaging quality. This poses significant challenges for conventional imaging techniques, particularly when accurate quantitative imaging is required for dosimetry and treatment planning.

This PhD project will focus on optimizing quantitative imaging protocols for therapeutic radionuclides by balancing spatial resolution and detection sensitivity. The overarching goal is to reduce uncertainties in absorbed dose estimates for both tumor lesions and dose-limiting healthy organs.

A major emphasis will be placed on actinium-225 (Ac-225), an alpha-emitting radionuclide with high therapeutic potential but extremely limited imaging signal due to its low photon yield. Strategies will be developed to enhance detection sensitivity—acquiring more counts within clinically feasible scan durations—while minimizing degradation of image quality. For lutetium-177 (Lu-177), a beta-emitter already in clinical use, protocol optimizations will focus on reducing acquisition times to improve workflow efficiency and patient throughput, without compromising dosimetric accuracy.

This project will involve a combination of phantom studies, Monte Carlo simulations, and clinical data evaluation, and is ideal for candidates with an interest in medical imaging physics, nuclear medicine, or radiopharmaceutical therapy.

Profile

We are seeking a motivated and technically skilled PhD candidate with a strong interest in quantitative imaging and its clinical applications in radionuclide therapy. The ideal candidate will be enthusiastic about bridging technical research with real-world clinical needs and comfortable interacting with nuclear medicine physicians and multidisciplinary teams.

The successful candidate should have: 

• A Master’s degree in (Medical) Physics, (Biomedical) Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical discipline

• Experience with scientific programming in at least one high-level language (e.g., Python, R, MATLAB)

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, combined with the ability to work independently on complex research tasks

• A genuine interest in the clinical side of molecular imaging and targeted radionuclide therapy

• Good communication skills and a willingness to collaborate with clinical experts, including nuclear medicine physicians

We welcome applications from bright and motivated individuals; prior experience in the specific application domain is not essential, and appropriate training will be provided.

Offer

We offer:

Interested?

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