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PhD in Healthcare Design: Designing Patient-Centred Self-Service MRI Pathways in Primary Care

Project 2600 · Universitair Medisch Centrum Utrecht (UMC Utrecht) · Julius Center, Bioethics and Health Humanities

Application workspace

Save this opportunity and prepare around its actual requirements. Confirm deadlines and eligibility at the original source.

Read the research report View the recruitment source
Country or region
Netherlands
Application deadline
2026-11-17 (confirm the exact time with the source)
Funding
Employer page: €3,217–€4,077 gross per month on a 36-hour basis; this role is 32–36 hours/week. The project description elsewhere calls €3,217 the maximum. Confirm scale and step with HR. Listed benefits include 8.3% year-end and 8% holiday allowances and pension/commuting support; contract duration is unstated.

The research opportunity

Research overview

This UMC Utrecht PhD investigates person-centred care and technological innovation within the Brain Matters programme. It aims to make highly automated brain MRI usable closer to home, particularly for people with dementia or cognitive concerns, while evaluating referral and care pathways rather than treating the role as scanner engineering.

Research programme

The researcher will co-design self-scanning pathways and virtual guidance with patients, caregivers, clinicians and technology partners. Methods include focus groups, interviews, questionnaires, real-world pilots and feasibility studies. The role also involves organising scanning appointments, coordinating partners and referrals, recruiting participants, collecting and analysing data, and communicating results through publications, public engagement and conferences. Evaluation considers patient and professional experiences, time, cost and quality of care. Specific work packages, access to the demonstration system and evaluation endpoints need confirmation.

Research environment and supervision

The position sits in the Julius Center’s Bioethics and Health Humanities and patient/public involvement environment. Astrid Janssens and Leonie Visser are named as supervisors and Jeroen Siero as an imaging collaborator. UMC Utrecht’s general training information describes a thesis defence at Utrecht University, but the exact doctoral registration, graduate school and degree route for this role remain to be confirmed.

Eligibility, employment and deadline

  • The vacancy accepts a behavioural-sciences research master’s or other relevant master’s degree, including health-policy, medical-technology, life-science or medical-humanities backgrounds.
  • Good spoken and written Dutch and English, communication, organisation and independent/team working are required; affinity with dementia or cognitive decline is preferred.
  • The role is 32–36 hours/week.
  • The employer page states €3,217–€4,077 gross monthly on a 36-hour basis, while the project description elsewhere calls €3,217 the maximum; ask HR to confirm the applicable scale and starting step.
  • Benefits listed include 8.3% year-end and 8% holiday allowances, an employer pension contribution and commuting support.
  • Contract duration and net income are not stated.
  • The employer deadline is 17 November 2026; the project description gives 18 November.
  • Prepare for the earlier date and confirm the precise closing time.

Living costs

Utrecht University estimates student living costs at €1,000–€1,400 per month excluding tuition; housing is scarce, and staff rental ranges can be higher. These estimates are not a net-pay calculation for the role.

Further project details

Examples of the co-designed pathway include virtual guidance before and during scanning, communication recommendations for referrers, and software supporting image quality control and analysis. Partners mentioned include Virtually Human and Philips alongside clinical, patient and international technology collaborators. The employer page states that the employer pays 70% of ABP pension contributions; confirm individual applicability and deductions.

Research and application brief

Report generated: . This date does not confirm that recruitment remains open.

Information updated: . Recheck the original notice before applying.

Show report contents

PhD in Healthcare Design: Designing Patient-Centred Self-Service MRI Pathways in Primary Care

Quick Decision

Strong but verify fit. This is a paid, translational PhD role for someone who wants to make largely automated brain MRI usable in community and primary-care pathways, particularly for people with dementia or cognitive concerns. The work is centred on co-design, care/referral pathways and evaluation with patients, caregivers and clinicians; it also includes scan logistics, recruitment and partnership coordination. It is a closer fit for applicants who combine a relevant research Master's, strong Dutch and English, participatory or mixed-methods experience, and comfort with operational work than for someone seeking a mainly scanner-engineering doctorate. UMC Utrecht vacancy

The UMC Utrecht recruitment page gives a 17 November 2026 publication end date and a gross OIO scale of €3,217–€4,077 per month at a 36-hour full-time week. The project listing says 18 November and contains another line showing €3,217 as the maximum; confirm both items in the live portal and with HR. Contract duration, exact doctoral registration and net take-home pay are not stated. The next useful step is to check degree and language eligibility, then ask the team for the work-package plan and offer terms before making a decision. UMC Utrecht vacancy

Research Problem and Doctoral Work

What Is Unsolved and Why It Matters

Brain MRI can help identify causes of memory problems and support dementia diagnosis, but hospital capacity, waiting times and staffing constrain access. The Brain Matters project aims to move largely automated brain imaging closer to patients, including elderly-care and primary-care settings. This creates a clinical and service-design question: can a person referred for a scan complete it with appropriate support, and can the resulting information lead to timely, understandable and useful care? The project sits inside a larger programme on autonomous MRI and ultrasound, with vascular dementia among its use cases. UMC Utrecht vacancy Reimagine Imaging programme BrainMatters programme event

Work, Methods, and Potential Outputs

The advertised doctoral work is to co-design the self-scan process and accessible care/referral routes for different patient groups, with special attention to dementia. Examples include virtual guidance before and during the scan, communication recommendations for referring clinicians, and software support for image quality and analysis. The researcher will evaluate what patients and healthcare professionals think and what first-line self-scanning may mean for time, cost and quality of care. The stated methods include co-design/co-creation, focus groups, interviews, questionnaires, real-life pilot tests and feasibility tests. UMC Utrecht vacancy

This is not described as a scanner-engineering post. The researcher is also expected to plan and coordinate scan appointments, support collaboration, encourage referrals, recruit participants, collect and analyse data, and communicate findings through papers, public-facing communication and conferences. The advertisement leaves the precise study sequence, endpoints and time split open. Recent UMC work suggests useful questions about cognitive load, participant trust, recruitment barriers, caregiver involvement and how diagnostic conversations connect to care; these are evidence-informed possibilities to discuss, not promised thesis aims. UMC Utrecht vacancy Helder in Gesprek co-design study Early-stage dementia care study Dementia research recruitment review Familial dementia testing study

School, Programme and Field Context

The employing and host institution is UMC Utrecht. The vacancy places the appointment in Bioethics & Health Humanities (BHH) within the Julius Center and in a patient- and citizen-participation research line. UMC Utrecht describes itself as an educational and research institution with care, research and education missions. The BHH group covers patient/public participation, medical communication, bioethics and health humanities, while the named imaging collaborator and MRI groups provide a connection to technical research. The sources confirm a consortium and external partners, but they do not establish a joint degree. UMC Utrecht vacancy UMC Utrecht organisation Bioethics & Health Humanities group Jeroen Siero profile Advanced MRI research group

UMC Utrecht's general postgraduate page says its PhD candidates defend their thesis at Utrecht University. Utrecht University's GSLS guidance describes MyPhD registration and a Training and Supervision Agreement within three months, but the vacancy does not name the specific graduate school, faculty, registration route, thesis language or training schedule for this post. The exact degree-awarding and administrative arrangement should therefore be confirmed rather than inferred from the consortium. UMC Utrecht postgraduate training Utrecht University GSLS MyPhD guidance

QS reports Utrecht University at #113 overall in its 2027 world ranking. That is an institution-wide indicator, not evidence of a specific subject position in neuroscience, clinical research or health humanities. Utrecht University also notes that it stopped submitting institutional data to selected ranking exercises in 2023, which can affect comparison. No directly relevant subject ranking was verified. Utrecht University ranking profile Utrecht University ranking information

For career context, Dutch employment and statistics agencies report broad healthcare workforce growth and persistent vacancy pressure, but these aggregate figures do not predict employment for graduates in this specific niche. The doctoral skills in participatory research, clinical evaluation and implementation may transfer to academic, healthcare, public-sector and digital-health evaluation roles; general doctoral guidance lists such sectors, but no project-specific placement rates were found. UWV healthcare labour market Statistics Netherlands healthcare labour market GSLS PhD Guide Utrecht University ranking profile Utrecht University ranking information

Supervisor and Lab Assessment

The vacancy names Prof. Astrid Janssens and Dr. Leonie Visser as supervisors, and Dr. Jeroen Siero as the imaging-research collaborator. Janssens' profile emphasizes patient/public involvement and health-services research; Visser's profile includes communication, patient perspectives, participatory research and implementation; Siero's work includes vascular MRI, MRI methods, image analysis and clinical translation. This is a strong conceptual bridge for a project that needs both human-centred pathways and imaging expertise. The posting does not specify primary-supervisor responsibilities, meeting cadence or how much imaging-science time is allocated. UMC Utrecht vacancy Leonie Visser profile Astrid Janssens profile Jeroen Siero profile

The Advanced MRI Gradient Hardware and Methods Group says its technology underpins an autonomous MRI demonstrator at a community elderly-care centre. This confirms a relevant technical environment, but not that the doctoral researcher will operate the system, own the technical development or have a guaranteed amount of access to it. Advanced MRI research group

Recent Important Publications

  • Person-centred communication design: A 2026 co-design study involving people with dementia, care partners and clinicians developed digital and analogue memory-clinic communication prototypes. Usability work identified navigation, system feedback, understandability and cognitive overload as areas to improve, and pointed to real-world feasibility testing. This is directly relevant to designing scan guidance that remains usable for people with cognitive concerns. Helder in Gesprek co-design study
  • Early-stage dementia care: A 2026 Dutch qualitative study of 35 patient-caregiver dyads and 47 professionals found that trust, tailored outreach, practical support and coordination matter; stigma, service mismatch and bureaucracy can obstruct care. These findings argue for evaluating the whole referral and support pathway, not just a scan experience. Early-stage dementia care study
  • Recruitment and inclusion: A 2026 scoping review synthesizing 19 reviews and 53 empirical studies groups participation barriers around mistrust, stigma/research literacy, logistical or financial constraints, communication and system-level factors. Most included studies were from the United States, so local adaptation is necessary. It offers a useful recruitment-planning checklist, not a ready-made Dutch solution. Dementia research recruitment review
  • Diagnostic-report co-design precedent: Earlier UMC work on a dementia diagnostic report used patient and caregiver co-design to support communication. It is a useful local precedent, although it does not establish how this MRI pathway will be designed. Dementia diagnostic report co-design study
  • Family experience of diagnosis: A 2026 mixed-methods study of familial dementia genetic testing describes emotional and relational implications for patients and relatives. It is not an MRI study, but it reinforces the need to include communication and support when evaluating diagnostic technologies. Familial dementia testing study

Funding, Application, and Living Cost

The official employer page lists €3,217–€4,077 gross per month on a 36-hour full-time basis for the OIO salary scale; the advertised position is 32–36 hours weekly. It also lists an 8.3% year-end payment, 8% holiday allowance, 70% employer contribution to the ABP pension premium and commuting support. The page does not give a net salary estimate or the actual salary step for this appointment. Ask HR to confirm the applicable scale and pay at the chosen working hours. UMC Utrecht vacancy

Health~Holland describes Reimagine Imaging as a €5 million public-private programme coordinated by UMC Utrecht with Maastricht University, Philips Healthcare and High Tech NL. This establishes programme-level support for autonomous imaging, but the amount is not a personal stipend and does not establish the duration or funding source of this individual employment contract. Reimagine Imaging programme

For context, Utrecht University's student budget guide estimates €1,000–€1,400 per month excluding tuition, including an accommodation estimate of €500–€1,100. Its housing guide gives wider indicative ranges by type: €500–€1,000 for a room, €750–€1,700 for a studio, and €1,500–€2,800 for an apartment, while warning that housing availability is tight. A staff/guest guide estimates free-market Utrecht rent at €1,200–€2,500. These estimates use different groups and housing assumptions; none is an employee-specific budget or net-pay calculation. Utrecht University cost-of-living estimate Utrecht University housing budget Utrecht University staff living-cost guide

Applicant Fit and Preparation

Required Background and Skills

The vacancy requires a research Master's in a behavioural-science discipline, such as medical psychology, health sciences or communication sciences, or another relevant Master's such as healthcare policy and innovation, medical technology, life science and technology or medical humanities. Strong spoken and written Dutch and English, teamwork, independent working, social and communication skills, and organization are required. Affinity with dementia or cognitive decline is described as a plus. UMC Utrecht vacancy

Preferred Experience and Suggested Preparation

The strongest application evidence would show a concrete example of co-design or patient/public involvement and how participation changed the research or service; experience with interviews, focus groups, surveys or feasibility work; and an ability to coordinate participants and clinical partners. The role also includes recruitment, scheduling and dissemination, so practical organization matters alongside analysis. Technical applicants should connect their expertise to patient-facing evaluation and care pathways. Behavioural and health-science applicants should show willingness to work with imaging teams and quantitative assessment of time, cost or care quality. UMC Utrecht vacancy Helder in Gesprek co-design study Early-stage dementia care study

Next Actions and Questions to Verify

Before Applying

  • Confirm the deadline and closing time in the live recruitment portal; the official UMC Utrecht page says 17 November 2026, while the project listing says 18 November. UMC Utrecht vacancy
  • Ask whether the applicant's exact Master's degree is accepted and what evidence of Dutch and English proficiency is required.
  • Clarify whether the €3,217–€4,077 range is the operative scale and what entry step applies.

At Interview

  • Ask for the core research questions, patient groups, endpoints and balance among co-design, quantitative evaluation, pilots and operational coordination.
  • Ask which care pathways and co-design work the doctoral researcher will own, and what support is available for scan scheduling and recruitment.
  • Confirm access to the demonstrator, clinical sites, software, data and MRI collaborators; ask who leads supervision and how often meetings occur.
  • Ask how ethics/WMO status, consent, capacity, participant safety and caregiver involvement will be handled.

Before Accepting an Offer

  • Obtain written appointment duration, start date, salary step, progression and gross pay for 32, 34 and 36 hours.
  • Confirm Utrecht University faculty/graduate-school registration, formal degree route, training requirements, thesis language and any teaching duties.
  • Confirm whether any fees apply and which budget supports the post; do not assume the programme's €5 million grant is the candidate's personal funding.
  • Build a personal net-income and housing budget using actual contract details, insurance/tax status and current housing offers.

Evidence and Sources

Sources

The listing may come from a university or recruitment platform. Check the notice and official sources in the report for current application requirements. View the recruitment source

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