Doctoral Student in Engineering (m/f/d)

Sounds interesting?
Who we are:

Klingt spannend? Das sind wir:

The Division of Phoniatrics and Pediatric Audiology (Phoniatrie und Pädaudiologie) at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery of Universitätsklinikum Erlangen focuses on the diagnosis, treatment, and research of disorders of human communication, particularly voice, language, speech, swallowing, and pediatric hearing. Its aim is to gain a deeper understanding of the underlying functional, physiological, and biomechanical mechanisms and to derive new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for patients of all ages. The division conducts both clinical and basic research. We are looking for a dedicated doctoral candidate for a newly approved, externally funded research project.

The interdisciplinary research project “From Structure to Sound” investigates how the extracellular matrix (ECM) composition of vocal fold tissue determines its biomechanical properties, vibration dynamics and resulting acoustic characteristics. The project combines clinical voice research, ex-vivo larynx experiments, histological and molecular tissue analysis, high-speed imaging, aerodynamic/acoustic measurements and OCT-based biomechanical characterization. The long-term aim is to establish a mechanistic understanding of structure–function relationships in vocal folds and to contribute to future precision diagnostics and minimally invasive ECM-targeted therapies for voice disorders.