Bracco Research Fellowships
learn from the best
This Fellowship helps the applicant develop or establish a research programme in their institution. Instruction is given on data acquisition and analysis, procedure and image review, and data quality and bias management, through a collaboration with statisticians, clinicians, and clinical scientists. Post-processing tools, writing skills, and presentation styles are also discussed.
You will spend three months in a world-leading training centre working closely on a research project of your choice with experts in their field.
Application deadline: 7 September
how to apply
STEP 1
Log in to the MyESR portal and select ‘Bracco Fellowships’.
(If you are not an ESR Member or need to renew your ESR Membership, please click here)
Applicants must provide all the following documents as a single PDF file:
Application form
A completed and signed application form. The checklist at the bottom of the application form specifies relevant documents.
Letter of motivation
Addressed to the Evaluation Committee and including a summary of their training background, areas of particular strength and interest and a brief description of how they would hope to implement and apply their medical training.
CV*
using the ESOR curriculum vitae template (.docx).
Two different signed, stamped letters of recommendation
Addressed to the Evaluation Committee from the head of department of the current training centre or a previously undertaken academic training.
These letters must include the institutional letterhead.
PLEASE NOTE:
This programme is for young radiologists, residents in their last years of training, or recently board-certified radiologists.
Applicants must be 35 years old, or younger, at the time of application.
Applicants must be fluent, and provide all documentation, in English.
Applicants must be Full Members or Members-in-Training of the ESR (to verify your ESR membership, check your MyESR Portal).
Radiologists residing in China should consider applying to the ESOR AIM China Mentorships.
- You may apply to only one ESOR programme at a time. Multiple applications will not be accepted.
- Candidates may only apply to institutions outside of their country of residence / work.
- Selected candidates will be asked to provide additional documents to the training centre for administrative purposes.
- Selected candidates are asked to apply for their own work permits and insurance. Please consider potentially long visa application waiting times when applying. Training centres may provide assistance.
- Selected candidates must find their own accommodation. Training centres may provide further advice.
- All applications will be carefully reviewed by an evaluation committee after the submission deadline.
Full programme guidelines can be viewed here.
*Each candidate must submit their CV in the provided ESOR format. Differing CV formats will not be considered. Only complete applications can be considered.
Research Projects
In 2027, 44 research projects, across 11 subspecialties, are available for you to choose from:
Abdominal Radiology
| Project | Title | Leader | Institution | Location |
| B_A_01 | Quantitative image analysis of baseline and follow-up CT scans of colorectal cancer patients | Bettina Catalin Budai | University Hospital Heidelberg | Heidelberg/DE |
| B_A_02 | Cystic pancreatic lesions in the NAKO study | Philipp Mayer | University Medical Center Heidelberg | Heidelberg/DE |
| B_A_03 | Quantitative and multiparametric imaging of chronic liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma | Roberto Cannella | Università degli Studi di Palermo, University Hospital Policlinico “Paolo Giaccone”. | Palermo/IT |
| B_A_04 | Predicting the development of liver metastases in colorectal cancer using artificial intelligence and quantitative imaging | Raquel Perez-Lopez | Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) | Barcelona/ES |
| B_A_05 | Quantitative CT imaging biomarkers for prediction of treatment response after Transarterial Radioembolisation (TARE) in hepatocellular carcinoma: a cohort study | Roy Dwarkasing | Erasmus University Medical Center | Rotterdam/NL |
| B_A_06 | Advanced photon-counting CT for the assessment of pancreatic cancer and therapy response | Bibi Martens | Maastricht University Medical Center + | Maastricht/NL |
| B_A_07 | Role of whole-body diffusion weighted MRI for the prediction of surgical and clinical outcome in advanced ovarian cancer | Giuseppe Petralia | European Institute of Oncology (IEO IRCCS) | Milan/IT |
| B_A_08 | Evaluation of 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT and MR enterography for the detection of primary small-bowel neuroendocrine tumours | Giuseppe Petralia | European Institute of Oncology (IEO IRCCS) | Milan/IT |
| B_A_09 | Development of an algorithm for segmenting abdominal organs in a research setting | Luis Marti Bonmati | La Fe Health Research Institute | Valencia/ES |
| B_A_10 | Spectral dual-energy CT radiomics for improved diagnosis and characterisation of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: development and validation of a reproducible imaging workflow | Milagros Otero Garcia | Hospital Alvaro Cunqueiro | Vigo/ES |
Breast Imaging
| Project | Title | Leader | Institution | Location |
| B_B_01 | Cross-modality correlation in advanced breast imaging: a comparative analysis of mammography, digital breast tomosynthesis, contrast-enhanced mammography, dedicated breast CT, and multiprotocol breast MRI | Malwina Kaniewska | University of Zurich | Zurich/CH |
| B_B_02 | Multimodal imaging phenotypes of classic versus non-classic invasive lobular carcinoma | Caroline Malhaire | Institut Curie | Paris/FR |
| B_B_03 | Performance of mammography AI in invasive lobular carcinoma: imaging features, histopathology, and detection errors | Caroline Malhaire | Institut Curie | Paris/FR |
| B_B_04 | Whole-body MRI as prognostic biomarker in breast cancer patients with bone metastases receiving systemic anticancer therapy | Giuseppe Petralia | European Institute of Oncology (IEO IRCCS) | Milan/IT |
| B_B_05 | Investigating the additional role of 68Ga-FAPI as PET tracer in breast cancer patients with hypometabolic cancer according to 18F-FDG PET | Thiemo van Nijnatten | Maastricht University Medical Center+ | Maastricht/NL |
| B_B_06 | Improving the diagnostic performance of contrast enhanced mammography through quantitative imaging biomarkers and AI | Iris Allajbeu | University of Cambridge | Cambridge/UK |
| B_B_07 | Investigating the correlation between degree of background parenchymal enhancement and the degree of breast density | Thiemo van Nijnatten | Maastricht University Medical Center+ | Maastricht/NL |
Cardiovascular Imaging
| Project | Title | Leader | Institution | Location |
| B_C_01 | Advanced cardiovascular CT imaging | Hatem Alkadhi | University Hospital Zurich | Zurich/CH |
| B_C_02 | Coronary artery calcification in lung cancer screening: prevalence, clinical impact, and preventive opportunities | Giulia Benedetti | Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (GSTT) | London/UK |
| B_C_03 | Impact of CT coronary angiography, FFR-CT, and plaque analysis on clinical decision-making and patient outcomes in rapid access chest pain clinic patients | Giulia Benedetti | Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (GSTT) | London/UK |
| B_C_04 | Advanced quantitative imaging and biomarker characterisation with photon-counting CT and cardiovascular magnetic resonance | Francois Pontana | Heart and Lung Institute, CHU Lille | Lille/FR |
Emergency Radiology
| Project | Title | Leader | Institution | Location |
| B_E_01 | Role of ultrasound in the characterisation of emergency peritoneal pathology | Dragan Vasin | University Clinical Centre of Serbia | Belgrade/RS |
| B_E_02 | Optimisation of emergency computed tomography protocols and its diagnostic accuracy in acute abdominal radiology | Dragan Vasin | University Clinical Centre of Serbia | Belgrade/RS |
Hybrid Imaging
| Project | Title | Leader | Institution | Location |
| B_H_01 | Lynx: a unified foundation model for multimodal radiology — development and validation using retrospective clinical imaging data | Lalith Sundar, Clemens Cyran | LMU University Hospital Munich | Munich/DE |
Head and Neck Radiology
| Project | Title | Leader | Institution | Location |
| B_HN_01 | Imaging biomarkers and artificial intelligence for early prediction of treatment response in locally advanced head and neck cancer | Raquel Perez-Lopez | Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) | Barcelona/ES |
| B_HN_02 | Head and neck imaging / oncologic imaging activity within the institutional multidisciplinary head and neck tumour board | Daniela Messineo | Sapienza University of Rome | Rome/IT |
Musculoskeletal Radiology
Neuroradiology
| Project | Title | Leader | Institution | Location |
| B_N_01 | Multiparametric assessment of limbic system integrity in healthy ageing, epilepsy, and neurodegeneration | Alexander Rau | University Hospital Freiburg | Freiburg/DE |
| B_N_02 | Exploring imaging biomarkers of brain health, cerebrovascular disease, and aging in older adults from the large scale TwinsUK MRI study | Jon Cleary | King’s College Hospital | London/UK |
| B_N_03 | Diagnostic accuracy of indirect Multidetector Computed Tomography (MDCT) signs for predicting Posterior Ligamentous Complex (PLC) disruption injury in thoracolumbar trauma | Katarina Trajkovic | University Clinical Centre of Serbia | Belgrade/RS |
| B_N_04 | Advanced MR imaging and artificial intelligence in neuro-oncology | Letterio Politi | Humanitas Research Hospital and Humanitas University | Milan/IT |
| B_N_05 | AI vs. radiologist: a comparative study of brain MRI reporting for abnormality detection | Thomas Booth | King’s College Hospital | London/UK |
| B_N_06 | Device outcomes in intracranial aneurysm treatment: an evaluation of safety and efficacy | Thomas Booth | King’s College Hospital | London/UK |
| B_N_07 | Improved diagnosis of neurodegenerative disorders by cross-ethnic application of Stochastic Cortical Self-Reconstruction (SCSR) | Dennis Hedderich | Technical University of Munich | Munich/DE |
| B_N_08 | Radiomic signatures predicting growth behaviour in untreated meningiomas | Camilo Pineda | IDIBAPS Hospital Clinic | Barcelona/ES |
| B_N_09 | Phosphorus and proton MR spectroscopy at 7 Tesla for metabolic characterisation of epilepsy and neurodegeneration | Ioana Hutuca | Geneva University Hospitals | Geneva/CH |
| B_N_10 | Prognostic value of the Rotterdam CT score and Glasgow coma scale in predicting in-hospital mortality following traumatic brain injury | Novica Djukanovic | University Clinical Centre of Serbia | Belgrade/RS |
| B_N_11 | Cerebral venous imaging biomarkers: AI-assisted multimodal analysis of venous patterns in neurovascular disease | Josep Munuera | Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau | Barcelona/ES |
| B_N_12 | Opportunistic imaging biomarkers from acute cerebrovascular imaging: AI-assisted quantification of metabolic and systemic risk in stroke | Josep Munuera | Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau | Barcelona/ES |
Oncologic Imaging
| Project | Title | Leader | Institution | Location |
| B_O_01 | Biological translation of CT-derived tumour habitats into MRI and histopathological correlates | Raquel Perez-Lopez | Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology | Barcelona/ES |
Thoracic Imaging
| Project | Title | Leader | Institution | Location |
| B_T_01 | Development of automatic scoring systems for chest MRI assessment of CF, asthma, and BPD in the ADVanced imAging of chroNiC paEdiatric pulmonary diseases (ADVANCER) study | Pierluigi Ciet | Erasmus Medical Center | Rotterdam/NL |
Duration of Fellowship and Funding
The Fellowship will last for 3 months and must take place in the first half of the year (January to June).
The Fellow must ensure their availability for three months during this period as postponement is not possible.
The Fellowship must be completed by the end of June 2027.
The Fellow will receive a grant (€ 3500,-) upon completion of the training, delivery of a final report, signed by the Head of Department of the host Training Centre, and submission of flight tickets and accommodation receipts.
The grant is intended to contribute in part to travel and accommodation expenses during the training period. ESOR cannot guarantee that the grant will cover these costs in full.
During the training period the Fellow is responsible for covering their expenses and their own health insurance. The training itself is offered for free.
Please note that in particular cases administrative charges may arise, which are to be covered by the grant.
Certification
Upon the receipt of a written report from the fellow about the fellow’s activities and work during the programme, the trainee will receive a certificate.
Evaluation committee
Applications to this programme will be evaluated by members of ESOR’s Steering and Programme Planning Committees.
