Missions

Pancreatic cancer (PDAC) remains a major therapeutic challenge. Survival of PDAC patients has improved little over the past 50 years, underscoring the urgent need to develop new therapeutic approaches. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is emerging as a promising strategy for treating this type of cancer. The interdisciplinary PDT-PDAC project, entitled “Photodynamic therapy to meet the challenge of pancreatic cancer treatment” (https://www.pepr-luma.fr/projet/pdt-pdac/), aims to deepen understanding of the interactions between light and photoactivatable compounds to design targeted and optimized therapeutic treatment. With the aim of guiding compound selection, optimizing treatment and proposing real-time therapy monitoring methods, we propose to develop a digital platform comprising: i) integration of organ morphology (digital twin) and physical properties (optical, over a wide range of wavelengths, and mechanical), as well as those of the PSs developed; ii) implementation of propagation models for the various excitation sources used (from X-ray to near-IR, as well as ultrasound) and their interactions with tissues and PSs; iii) formalize and implement a method for optimizing the delivered dose (source distribution); iii) study the sensitivity of non-invasive probing techniques (diffuse optical or photoacoustic tomography).

Activités

 Multi-physics numerical simulations: using a digital twin of a human or murine pancreas and software for optical, thermal and ultrasound signal propagation, set up the coupling between the various available software (Monte Carlo simulations, ultrasound wave propagation), and carry out a study of the sensitivity of the various techniques to the various opto-mechanical contrasts induced by the treatment under consideration (absorption, scattering, fluorescence, density, etc.).
 Implementation of algorithms for reconstructing parameters of interest (in situ dosimetry, optical properties, component dosing, etc.). The candidate will be able to start by using the algorithms implemented in the team, firstly using physical models (model-based) and then, by deep learning, with, initially, a simulated database, fed over the course of the project by in vitro experiments on calibrated media (so-called “phantoms”) and, secondly, by using the algorithms implemented in the team.

Compétences

Ph.D. in Physics, Applied Mathematics, Signal and Image Processing, Numerics Applied to Imaging or related fields.
High-performance scientific computing
Programming languages: C/C++, Python, MATLAB, VTK,...
Knowledge of physical models (X-ray propagation, diffuse optics, acoustic waves) and numerical tools for solving PDEs (Monte Carlo simulations and discrete methods (FEM, FVM, FDM)) would be a plus.
Good level of English required.
Ability to work in a multidisciplinary team.

Contexte de travail

The candidate will join Institut Fresnel's DiMABio team and work in partnership with the other members of the PDT PDAC consortium (14 research teams).

Le poste se situe dans un secteur relevant de la protection du potentiel scientifique et technique (PPST), et nécessite donc, conformément à la réglementation, que votre arrivée soit autorisée par l'autorité compétente du MESR.

Contraintes et risques

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