PhD in Advanced Brain PET Image Reconstruction at KU Leuven KU Leuven in Belgium

KU Leuven is inviting applications for a PhD position in Advanced Brain PET Image Reconstruction within the Molecular Image Reconstruction Group. The project is part of the PEARL initiative (PET Enhancement via Advanced Reconstruction using variational methods and Machine Learning), an international collaboration involving KU Leuven, the University of Graz, and the Technical University of Munich.

This PhD focuses on the intersection of medical imaging, computer science, physics, mathematics, and neuroscience. The successful candidate will work on large-scale brain PET/MR datasets, open data infrastructure, GPU-based reconstruction algorithms, and machine learning frameworks such as PyTorch. The role also includes evaluation with clinical experts at UZ Leuven, organizing an international PET reconstruction challenge, and publishing/presenting research at conferences.

Eligibility highlights: a Master’s degree in Engineering, Physics, Computer Science, Mathematics, or a related field; strong Python and scientific computing skills; solid background in linear algebra, optimization, and probability/statistics; excellent English; and strong motivation for interdisciplinary research. Experience with medical imaging, PET reconstruction, deep learning, large datasets, GPU computing, and Git is preferred.

Funding: the position is fully funded for 4 years. The project is supported by FWO (Belgium), FWF (Austria), and DFG (Germany), and offers access to state-of-the-art PET infrastructure, high-performance GPU resources, international exchanges, and conference opportunities.

Deadline: 10 May 2026 (23:59 CET). Applicants should submit their materials through the KU Leuven application portal.