ESGAR Research Fellowship Programme

The Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam is a Comprehensive Cancer Center with a focus on innovation in research and treatment of cancer patients. The department of radiology provides highly subspecialised diagnostic and interventional oncology service in almost all tumour types. The clinical and translational research at the department is multidisciplinary in collaboration with surgery, radiotherapy and other clinical specialties. It focuses on imaging for the assessment of response to cancer treatment with validation in particular of functional MR parameters. The research in rectal cancer MRI is an internationally recognised track and many related projects are taking place. The MR rectal research extends to other cancer types including breasts, lung, colon, liver, melanoma, brain and head and neck tumours. Another important focus of research is Radiomics and image segmentation. The imaging research at the Department of Radiology is performed and supervised by an international team of PhD fellows, post doc scientists, radiologists, surgeons and radiotherapists. The combination of an inspiring research infrastructure and atmosphere together with a high volume cancer care facilitates many relevant and innovative clinical imaging projects in our Comprehensive Cancer Center.
 

Project summary:

The research fellow will participate in one of the research projects of the department and depending on his/her skills, he/she will have the opportunity to work on an own project within the context of the research lines. Intensive supervision and mentorship from a senior researcher is guaranteed. A detailed individual programme is determined at the beginning of the fellowship in consultation with the fellow. The research fellow is expected to deliver at least one scientific publication in a peer reviewed journal.
 

Duration and funding:

The starting date of the fellowship will be decided in agreement between the centre and the fellow and will last for 12 months. The fellow will receive a monthly grant of € 1.800,00 to contribute to housing / living expenses.
 

Eligibility:

• This exchange programme applies to radiologists within the first three years after certification.
• The candidate should preferably have experience in conducting research.
• He/She should have basic skills in medical database handling.
• The candidate should be fluent in English and have communicative skills.
• He/She should have experience in scientific English writing.
• The successful candidate will have to make himself/herself available for an interview online.
• Must be an ESGAR member in good standing.
   

How to apply:

Applicants are asked to submit the following documents by e-mail to the Central ESGAR Office.

• A current CV (it is mandatory to use this template)
• Letter of motivation
• Confirmation letter by chief of applicants own institution detailing full permission to undertake the fellowship
   

Certification:

After successful completion of the fellowship the trainee receives a certificate from ESGAR and Netherlands Cancer Institute.

Reporting:

Upon completion of the fellowship, the fellow must present a written report about his/her activities during the programme within four weeks.
 

Please indicate "ESGAR Research Fellowship Amsterdam" in the subject line and include your membership status in your application.

The Montpellier Cancer Institute (ICM) in the south of France focuses on patient-centered cancer care and has shaped every aspect of the Department of Radiology at ICM, including staffing, imaging equipment, organizational structure, and beyond. The Department of Radiology team includes experts in various subspecialties of oncologic imaging, including body imaging, breast imaging, and MSK using state-of-the-art imaging equipment including CT scanners and MRI. Clinical imaging has a special focus on gynaecological malignancies, peritoneal carcinomatosis, pancreatic cancers, sarcomas and rectal cancers.  Strong collaboration between the clinical departments (radiation oncology, surgery and oncology), Pathology department and the department of Radiology allows optimal patient management and fruitful research. The recent arrival of MRIdian in the radiation oncology department has improved the collaboration between radiology and radiation oncology departments. A research lab on imaging biomarkers using an MRI 9.4T and a dedicated PETCT for small animals favours translational research.
 

Project summary:

With a five-year survival rate of only 3% for the majority of patients, pancreatic cancer is a global healthcare challenge. By the time of diagnosis over half of pancreatic cancers are metastasized. The dire disease situation reflects our inability to diagnose pancreatic cancer early and to effectively treat it. Our failure to diagnose the disease early results in part from the inaccessibility of the organ, difficulties in detecting small pancreatic lesions by conventional imaging approaches, and a poor understanding of the spectrum of heterogeneity in pancreatic cancer. Single time point, single site biopsies cannot assess entire tumor while multiple biopsies at several time points are not feasible in clinical routine. Limitations of invasive sampling may be addressed with non-invasive imaging that captures morphologic and functional information about the entire tumor in space and, if repeated, in time. Radiomics has the potential for “whole tumour virtual sampling” using a single or serial non-invasive examinations in place of biopsies. By approaching images as data able to be mined, instead of merely pictures in conventional radiology, quantitative imaging allows for further information to be extracted from medical images as well as for global assessments across large patient populations. Therefore, these new quantitative approaches hold the promise of detecting pancreatic cancer characteristics that the naked eye alone cannot perceive from conventional medical imaging, opening new doors for personalized medicine in pancreatic cancer. To date, no study has evaluated the value of radiomics at macroscopic (in vivo 1.5T/3TMRI) and microscopic (ex vivo 9.4TMRI) scale for early cancer detection and targeted treatment monitoring. Specifically, in this project, we will develop a model to capture imaging-based tumor heterogeneity with multiscale radiomics approach by obtaining the mirror tumor image at in vivo MRI, ex vivo MRI and at histology.

This imaging model giving a perfect virtual histology tumor representation will be secondary implemented on routine in vivo clinical MRI for early cancer detection and treatment monitoring. Successful completion of this proposal will lead to a comprehensive non invasive characterisation of pancreatic cancer and will be a game changer in patient management.

Duration and funding:

The starting date of the fellowship will be decided in agreement between the centre and the fellow and will last for 12 months. The fellow will receive a monthly grant of € 1.800,00 to contribute to housing / living expenses.
 

Eligibility:

• This exchange programme applies to radiologists within the first three years after certification.
• The candidate should preferably have experience in conducting research.
• He/She should have basic skills in medical database handling.
• The candidate should be fluent in English and have communicative skills.
• He/She should have experience in scientific English writing.
• The successful candidate will have to make himself/herself available for an interview online.
• Must be an ESGAR member in good standing.
   

How to apply:

Applicants are asked to submit the following documents by e-mail to the Central ESGAR Office.

• A current CV (it is mandatory to use this template)
• Letter of motivation
• Confirmation letter by chief of applicants own institution detailing full permission to undertake the fellowship
   

Certification:

After successful completion of the fellowship the trainee receives a certificate from ESGAR and Montpellier Cancer Institute.

Reporting:

Upon completion of the fellowship, the fellow must present a written report about his/her activities during the programme within four weeks.
 

Please indicate "ESGAR Research Fellowship Montpellier" in the subject line and include your membership status in your application.