CDTnet PhD Fellowship F1: Non-invasive Electro-Anatomical Mapping to Inform Arrhythmia Optimal Ablation Corify Care in Spain

This PhD fellowship in biomedical engineering is part of CDTnet and is hosted by Corify Care in Madrid, Spain. The project, titled Non-invasive Electro-Anatomical Mapping to Inform Arrhythmia Optimal Ablation, focuses on atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia. The central aim is to develop a patient-specific cardiovascular digital twin to improve planning and optimisation of AF ablation procedures.

The doctoral researcher will combine non-invasive electrocardiographic imaging (ECGi) with late gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (LGE-MRI) to build personalised models of cardiac anatomy and electrophysiology. These models will be used to reconstruct the arrhythmia substrate, simulate treatment strategies, and support clinical decision-making. The project also explores how digital twin technology can be incorporated into routine clinical workflows and how it may improve treatment planning and patient outcomes.

The research is supported by a large and clinically rich dataset including more than 200 AF patients with ECGi, MRI, invasive mapping data, and one-year follow-up information, alongside a virtual population of over 30,000 computational heart models. This makes the project especially attractive for candidates interested in cardiac modelling, computational medicine, and translation of research into clinical practice.

Planned secondments provide international exposure: the University of Bordeaux (France) for advanced mathematical and computational modelling, King’s College London (United Kingdom) for population-based anatomical modelling and ECGi personalisation, and IDIBAPS (Spain) for clinical testing and validation in AF ablation workflows.

Applicants must meet the doctoral admission requirements of Universitat Politècnica de València. In practice, this means a Bachelor’s plus Master’s degree totaling at least 300 ECTS credits, including at least 60 ECTS at Master’s level. Suitable backgrounds include computer science, applied mathematics, electrical engineering, and biomedical engineering, although other degrees can be considered if the applicant has formal competence in computing. Desirable preparation includes Matlab/Python programming, use of GitLab/GitHub or similar tools, and cardiac electrophysiological modelling. Excellent English is required, and MSCA mobility and eligibility rules apply.

The fellowship is funded through Horizon Europe / MSCA under grant agreement 101312147. The exact stipend or funding amount is not specified in the posting, but the opportunity is clearly a funded PhD position. The application deadline is 30 September 2026 at 23:59 (Europe/Brussels).