Netherlands Cancer Institute / University of Twente - PhD position

Post date: Sep 08, 2014 1:52:57 PM

PhD student (applied) mathematics, industrial engineering or a related field

Netherlands Cancer Institute – Antoni van Leeuwenhoek

University of Twente – The Netherlands

(36 hours)

Project: Logistical optimization of the radiotherapy treatment chain

Radiotherapy is a treatment modality for cancer where patients receive a high radiation-dose, localized to the tumor, while minimizing the exposure of surrounding normal tissue. The logistics of this type of treatment is complex for two reasons. First, many steps occur between first arrival of the patient at the hospital and the actual treatment of the patient, including CT-imaging, tumor delineation and treatment planning. And second, both fluctuations in the inflow of new patients and large variability in the care content occur. In radiotherapy, delays in the start of treatment can negatively affect the patient’s outcome and quality of life and therefore efficiently organizing patient flows in radiotherapy is both important and challenging. This project aims to apply an operations management (OM) approach to optimize and control this process.

Background

This KWF/Alpe d’Huzes supported project is a joint project of the Radiotherapy Department of The Netherlands Cancer Institute / Antoni van Leeuwenhoek (NKI) and CHOIR (University of Twente). The NKI is a dedicated cancer center and is an important national and international center of scientific and clinical expertise, development and training. The Radiotherapy Department treats 5000 patients per year in 100.000 patient visits.

CHOIR (Centre for Healthcare Operations Improvement & Research) is a multidisciplinary collaboration of University of Twente, representing different research areas, including Operations Research and Logistics and Operations Management. The research of CHOIR supports healthcare institutions in their efforts to increase the quality of services while simultaneously decrease costs. See also www.utwente.nl/choir.

Your profile: highly motivated PhD student

Does the project appeal to you and can you identify yourself with the following conditions then we would like to invite you for an interview!

· A master in (applied) mathematics, industrial engineering or a related field, preferably on a subject related to this project.

· An interest in the application of OM-techniques to medical care processes.

· Good communication skills to enable collaboration with different groups of health professionals.

· Fluent in Dutch and a good knowledge of English.

You will in principle be located at the NKI for four days of the week and work at the University of Twente for one day. In this way, you can both work on relevant problems from practice, and also learn from the experience of the CHOIR-advisors and collaboration with your fellow PhD students.

Your development opportunities and terms of employment

You will be employed by the NKI. With the innovation and growth our organization has planned for the coming years, your personal development and growth are also central. Of course we are open to initiatives that support the development of both yourself and our department.

The gross salary will be between € 2.492,- and €3.069,- per month for a fulltime position, according to the PhD-scales, depending on previous experience. The terms of employment will be in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Hospitals.. In addition, a fixed end-of-year bonus is part of the secondary conditions. Prof.dr. W.H. van Harten and Prof.dr. E.W. Hans will act as responsible PhD supervisors. Direct supervision within the NKI will be done by Dr. Corine van Vliet-Vroegindeweij.

Do you want more information?

For further information about the position please contact (NKI) Dr. Corine van Vliet-Vroegindeweij, tel. +31 20 512 2116 or Prof.dr. W.H. van Harten, tel. +31 020 512 2860, or (Choir) Prof. dr.ir. E.W. Hans, phone: +31 53 489 3523 or e-mail: e.w.hans@utwente.nl.

Applications must consist of an application/motivation letter, detailed CV, grade list, and relevant publications/reports of earlier (graduation) research.

Your application letter and resume can be attached to the application form on our website.