Recruitment
The offered positions are available with a starting date in summer 2026
Project description
Particle therapy (PT), utilizing mainly proton beams or heavier ion beams such as carbon, is one of the most advanced types of radiotherapy. It is used to treat a constantly rising number of cancer patients. Particle beams have a finite range and stop inside the patient at a predictable depth based on the composition of the tissue penetrated and deposit much of their energy near the end of their range. In principle, this allows the precise treatment of cancer cells in close proximity to critical organs and structures with potentially fewer side effects and decreased risk of inducing secondary cancer and growth defects in pediatric and young adult patients. However, during a period of several weeks of treatment, various changes may occur in the patient due to different responses leading to tumor shrinkage or growth, physiological reactions like inflammation, edema or fibrosis, general weight gain or loss, inter- and intra-fraction motion related to different organ and cavity fillings, respiration, or inconsistent daily positioning. The understanding, monitoring and reaction to such changes via immediate (in the best case online) adjustment of the treatment plan is of paramount importance to ensure accurate dose delivery in every PT fraction and to exploit the full PT potential.
Making right-time adaptive particle therapy of cancer a sustainable treatment approach demands a cohesive integration that ensures seamless functionality and highest efficiency of marketable solutions that provide optimal clinical benefit at reasonable costs. It is therefore of utmost importance (1) to foster efficient clinical realizations of online adaptive PT, with a minimal dose burden and duration of treatment fractions, (2) to safely unleash the full potential of online adaptive PT and make it widely accessible through technological completion, and (3) to triage adaptive PT only if beneficial in the individual context, indicated by biomarkers and biological models, i.e. to personalize adaptions by anatomical and biological indicators. Thus, RAPTORplus brings together more than 30 partners from academia, clinic and industry having one aim in common: To facilitate most effective adaptation in particle therapy.
Each doctoral candidate (DC) recruited in RAPTORplus will conduct an individual research project (IRP) at both academic and non-academic health care facilities which will sharpen their focus on clinical needs with respect to right-time adaptive PT. The active involvement of industry ensures that the transfer of industry-relevant skills is an integral part of the DC education. It will also guarantee rapid translation of clinical needs into innovative and marketable solutions. The multidisciplinary and intersectoral training program of RAPTORplus complements the education of a new generation of talented researchers. They will acquire a broad range of valuable transferable skills and a transformative and holistic mindset to spearhead the forthcoming era of adaptive PT that will undoubtedly enhance cancer care. Network-wide training camps and secondments to academic and industrial partners will enable the DCs to establish long-lasting collaborations.
In the framework of the Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network (MSCA-DN) RAPTORplus a total of 18 PhD positions are available at the premises of 16 European institutions from academia, clinic and industry as listed below with a starting date in summer 2026.
Our research projects
Efficient realisation: Clinical implementation of online adaptive particle therapy
To make the potential clinical benefits of online-adaptive particle therapy widely available to as many patients as possible in increasingly strained healthcare systems, it is crucial to ensure efficiency. Due to the limited number of treatment rooms, cost of PT is highly dependent on the time per treatment session and the highly qualified staff involved. OAPT treatment sessions should not be much longer than standard PT sessions and require workflows that involve parallelisation of tasks, a high degree of automation and less manual interaction. You will provide scientific guidance for time- and resource-efficient OAPT workflow realisations (Projects 1-4) and will exemplify this balance between effectiveness and efficiency in paediatric patients (Projects 5-6).
Technological completion: Developments for broad and safe use
Basically all new PT centres have access to cone-beam CT (CBCT). CBCT imaging eliminates the time and uncertainty associated with long-distance couch repositioning after imaging, but suffers from longer imaging time and poorer image quality. You will work on optimised and quality-assured CBCT imaging for accurate adaptive PT treatment planning (Projects 7-9). You will also evaluate the added benefit from treatment verification strategies – based on prompt gammas, fast neutrons and iono-acoustic waves – at different technological readiness levels to support the safety of online adaptations in particle therapy (Projects 10-12).
Biomarker-based adaptation: Personalised adaptation beyond anatomy
To perform adaptations at the right time and in the right way, it is relevant to continuously gain information about early tumour response and toxicity. Biological responses to RT occur at different timescales, from the (sub-)cellular level to macroscopic morphological changes. Functional imaging-based biomarkers, e.g. from quantitative MR, provide spatio-temporal information about this response, including inter- and intra-tumour heterogeneity. You will specifically focus on advancing the generation of knowledge regarding the biological response to particle beams at the micro- to macroscopic scale (Projects 13-15). Early treatment adaptation through predictive patient surveillance relies on both a regular response monitoring through longitudinally available biomarkers for early treatment response and accurate and reliable models of response detection and prediction. You will leverage existing and refined biomarker-response models and integrate them for the first time systematically into robust adaptive treatment planning and related decisions including those for the optimal allocation of healthcare resources (Projects 16-19).
Application and selection process
Eligibility criteria: Who can apply?
We welcome applications from doctoral candidates who fulfill the following requirements:
- Candidates can be of any nationality within laws of EU to enter the EU countries.
- Candidates must hold a master's or equivalent degree in a subject as indicated for the specific project. They may apply prior to obtaining their degree, but cannot receive an employment contract before having obtained it. A previous experience in the respective fields of the DC project is an asset.
- Candidates must not have a doctoral degree at the date of their recruitment. As soon as a doctoral degree is awarded, the candidate is not eligible for funding anymore. Researchers who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but who have not yet formally been awarded the doctoral degree will not be considered eligible.
- Candidates must comply with the MSCA mobility rule: They must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the recruiting institution for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before their recruitment date. Country of main activity is not only where the candidate was physically based, but also the country of the institution for which the main activity was performed. Compulsory national service, short stays such as holidays and time spent as part of a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention are not taken into account. The mobility rule applies only to the initial recruitment within the project, and not to other institutions to which the candidate might be sent on secondment.
- The primary workplace will be at the premises of the recruiting institution indicated for each project. Therefore, candidates must be willing to relocate and candidates from outside the EU must be eligible to obtain a visa for the respective country.
- Candidates must be eligible to enroll in the indicated PhD program at the respective institution.
- If the hosting institution is subjected to special rules for security and export control, open-source background checks may be conducted on qualified candidates for the position.
- High level of proficiency in written and spoken English and good communication skills are a general prerequisite for working in international and interdisciplinary research groups and for effective communication within the network.
- Candidates shall have a strong research interest with an ambition for excellence and should have the ability to team up with their peers in RAPTORplus to successfully pursue a common goal.
- As each individual research project involves temporary secondments with a maximum total duration of 12 months, applicants must be prepared to travel and demonstrate appropriate organisational skills.
- The candidate's profile match the additional requirements indicated under the respective project website.
RAPTORplus strives to promote more women in academia and research. We therefore expressly encourage qualified women to apply. We value diversity in our network and welcome applications from people with diverse backgrounds regardless of gender, ethnic and social origin, belief, disability, age, and sexual orientation. Severely disabled persons are given preference in the event of equal suitability.
Benefits: What's in for you?
- Becoming a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow working on an interdisciplinary and international project in excellent research environments and under close supervision by world-leading experts.
- A full-time position at a leading institutions with full social security coverage, fully-funded for 3 years. Additional funding will be available in case of 4 year PhD programs (project-dependent).
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A competitive monthly gross salary according to MSCA regulations (page 118ff) including
(1) a living allowance of 4,010 € * country correction coefficient,
(2) a mobility allowance of 710 € and
(3) if eligible, a family allowance.
The stated allowances represent the monthly gross funding amounts. Employer contributions to social security, health insurance, and other statutory costs will be deducted in accordance with the applicable national regulations. Therefore the total amount received may vary from employer to employer, even within the same country. However, it will be ensured that at least the same salary is paid as for local researchers holding a similar position. - A comprehensive training program: 3 scientific and transferable skills training weeks (in Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands), including keynote lectures to meet patients, industry representatives and clinic experts, hands-on international workshops and visits in research, industry and healthcare facilities. These in-person training camps will alternate with annual network-wide online trainings to provide complementary knowledge from international experts in cross-cutting topics.
- Covered tuition costs, research costs and funding for short term mobility (e.g. conference attendance).
- Secondment activities foster the development of valuable transversal competences with positive implications for the long-term employability.
- After RAPTORplus: Become a member of the Marie Curie Alumni Association (MSAA), a global network that promotes networking and career development and contributes to policy-making in research and innovation.
Selection procedure
The recruitment will follow a 2-stage selection process.
- Applications that pass the mobility clause are pre-evaluated by the respective principle investigator (PI) based on the criteria listed under each project page. Suited candidates will be interviewed by the respective PI and the project team by mid of March 2026.
- Shortlisted candidates from all projects will be invited to a centralized online interview attended by a panel of PIs from the RAPTORplus consortium.
Successful candidates will be tentatively enrolled between June and October 2026 (start date depends on the individual DC and project constraints)
Application procedure
Thank you for your interest in RAPTORplus. Please be advised that the application period has now closed.
The submitted applications are currently being reviewed. Project-specific interviews will be conducted by mid of March and the successful candidates will be notified of their interview time and date in due course.
Centralized interviews with shortlisted candidates will be conducted end of March and a final decision can be expected after Easter.
Needed documents:
Interested candidates can apply for up to 3 projects if they are willing to undertake any of the projects when they are successful in the application process.
Please compile the English application documents as a single pdf file including the following documents in the given order:
- Filled Application form:
Please provide contact details, information required to prove the compliance with the mobility rule, and select up to 3 individual research projects in descending order. - Motivation letter (maximum 2 pages):
You may describe your research project experience in the relevant field, potentially in an interdisciplinary and international team and which role you had in the project. You may also report how you have already proven to work independent on complex scientific tasks, and about potential leadership experience and may give an example of at least one practical project completed within the deadline with minimal supervision, and that give evidence of self-motivation and proactive problem-solving. - CV:
It should reflect your achievements and qualifications appropriate to the position you are applying for. - References:
Either provide reference letters or the contact details (name, title, address, telephone number, email address) for two referees and the capacity in which you know them. - Copies and transcripts of your obtained university degrees (incl. obtained grades)
- Other relevant documents, if any, such as language certificates