CDTnet PhD Fellowship F6: Signal Analysis and Computational Models for Arrhythmic Risk Stratification in Cardiomyopathies University of Zaragoza in Spain

The University of Zaragoza is offering a funded PhD fellowship in the BSICoS group at the Aragón Institute of Engineering Research (I3A) on signal analysis and computational models for arrhythmic risk stratification in cardiomyopathies. This is a research-intensive PhD position within the CDTnet project, supported by the EU Horizon Europe MSCA programme.

The project addresses an important clinical challenge: patients with genetic cardiomyopathies can have very different risks of ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. The doctoral research will develop personalised methods for risk stratification by combining advanced signal processing, cardiac imaging, and patient-specific digital twins. The successful candidate will work with electrocardiograms, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, and non-invasive electrocardiographic imaging to study how structural and electrical abnormalities interact to create arrhythmogenic substrates.

Research outputs will include personalised ventricular digital twins that reproduce individual cardiac electrical behaviour, virtual populations of digital twins for multivariable risk modelling, and novel digital biomarkers derived from multimodal data. The datasets will come from patients with hypertrophic and other genetic cardiac pathologies collected through collaborating clinical centres. The project also places emphasis on identifying robust biomarkers of arrhythmic events and exploring sex-related differences in risk and disease mechanisms.

Secondments are planned with Corify Care in Spain for training in ECGi and validation work, King's College London for developing anatomical models capturing population variability, and the University of Zagreb School of Medicine for external validation and clinical cardiomyopathy research exposure.

Eligibility is aligned with MSCA rules. Applicants should hold, or be close to holding, an MSc degree in Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science, or a related area. Strong programming experience in MATLAB, Python, C/C++, or similar languages is desired, together with background in signal processing, computational modelling, numerical simulation, or machine learning. Prior work in cardiac electrophysiology, medical imaging, physiological signal analysis, or patient-specific modelling would be an advantage. Candidates must not have spent more than 12 months in Spain in the three years before recruitment, must not already hold a doctoral degree, and must be eligible to enrol in the PhD programme at the University of Zaragoza. Excellent English is required.

The position is based in Zaragoza, Spain, within the Biomedical Signal Interpretation and Computational Simulation (BSICoS) group at the University of Zaragoza. The application deadline is 30 September 2026. Applicants should apply through the CDTnet website.