Gašper Podobnik
Gašper Podobnik

Researcher (Open to Work) | PhD in Medical Image Analysis

I recently earned my PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia). During my doctoral studies, I completed two international research fellowships: as an ASEF Junior Fellow at the Computer Laboratory, University of Cambridge (UK), and as a Fulbright Scholar at Johns Hopkins University (USA). which is currently ongoing. I am currently transitioning to a new role and am open to new opportunities.

My research focuses on medical image analysis, 3D semantic segmentation, modeling of human anatomy, development of validation metrics, and synthetic data creation. I am particularly interested in virtual imaging trials, digital patient twins, and their applications in radiotherapy, disease diagnosis, AI tool validation, and the creation of next-generation tools for precision and personalized medicine.

For a full list of my publications, please refer to my CV or Google Scholar. Feel free to reach out if you’d like to collaborate! 😃

Download Résumé

Experience

  1. Research Intern (Fulbright Scholarship)

    Johns Hopkins University

    Developed AnatomyGen, a generative model of human anatomy using implicit neural representations, capable of producing realistic, high-resolution anatomical phantoms for use in virtual imaging trials in medicine and in silico experimentation.

    Advised by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mathias Unberath.

  2. Research Intern (ASEF Junior Fellow)

    University of Cambridge

    Research on tumor segmentation in mammograms using deep learning.

    Advised by Prof. Dr. Mateja Jamnik and co-advised by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nikola Simidjievski.

Education

  1. PhD in Electrical Engineering | Medical Image Analysis

    University of Ljubljana

    Thesis: Multi-modal Medical Image Segmentation Using Deep Learning. Advised by Prof. Dr. Tomaž Vrtovec and co-advised by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bulat Ibragimov.

    My doctoral research focused on improving the accuracy and clinical reliability of organ-at-risk (OAR) segmentation for radiotherapy planning, particularly in the anatomically complex head and neck region. I investigated the potential and limitations of combining computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) data for this task, addressing challenges such as image registration, modality-specific artifacts, and clinical validation. As part of this work, we developed the HaN-Seg dataset - a public paired CT–MR dataset with expert annotations - and organized a computational challenge on multi-modal segmentation. We also designed in-house multi-modal models to explore the integration of CT and MR information. On the validation side, we conducted geometric, dosimetric, and psychometric analyses of organ-at-risk auto-segmentation and introduced MeshMetrics, a mesh-based implementation of distance-based metrics for 2D and 3D segmentation evaluation.

  2. Summer School on Machine Learning

    Eastern European Machine Learning Summer School (EEML)

    Presented a poster, participated in lectures and coding tutorials on various topics including: Diffusion Models and Generative AI, Reasoning with Deep Learning, Bayesian Deep Learning, Deep Reinforcement Learning, Transformers, Self-Supervised Learning, Visual-Language Models, Geometric Deep Learning, Advanced Architectures, Robustness & Fairness, and Causality.

    These sessions were led by some of the field’s leading experts, such as Alfredo Canziani, Sander Dieleman, Nenad Tomašev, Petar Veličković, Matko Bošnjak, Yee Whye Teh, Aleksandra Faust, Çağlar Gülçehre, Chris Dyer, Jovana Mitrović, Michael Bronstein, Razvan Pascanu, Martin Vechev, Ivana Malenica, and others.

  3. MSc Electrical Engineering | Biomedical Engineering

    University of Ljubljana

    GPA: 10.0/10.0

    Courses included:

    • Neurocybernetics
    • Medical Image Analysis
    • Intelligent Methods in Biomedicine Data-mining
    • Biomedical Imaging Technologies
    • Biomedical Sensors and Electronics
    • Biomedical Signal Processing

    Master’s Thesis: Regression models for predicting cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease

    Read Thesis
  4. Summer School on Biomedical Imaging

    ETH Zürich
    Lectures and practicals on various biomedical imaging modalities; convered a range of cutting-edge techniques and analysis tools.
  5. BSc Electrical Engineering

    University of Ljubljana

    GPA: 10.0/10.0

    Courses included:

    • Control Systems
    • Signal Processing
    • Intelligent Systems
    • Semiconductor Electronics
    • Optoelectronics

    Activities and societies:

    • Student Council,
    • Faculty’s Senate,
    • Study Affairs Committee
Honors and Awards
Outstanding reviewer award (MICCAI 2025)
The 28th International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention ∙ September 2025
Recognition for contributions to the peer-review process at MICCAI 2025.
Winner of Best Technical Implementation at the Computer Vision Projects Expo 2024
Ready Tensor ∙ January 2025
The Computer Vision Projects Expo 2024, an international competition organized by Ready Tensor, aims to recognize innovative computer vision projects from around the globe, spanning core computer vision to multi-modal applications. Our open-source tool, MeshMetrics, was selected as the winner in the Best Technical Implementation category, among over 500 submissions.
Fulbright Scholarship
Fulbright Program ∙ November 2024
The Fulbright Program, the United States government’s flagship program of international educational and cultural exchange, offers passionate and accomplished students and scholars in more than 160 countries the opportunity to study, teach, conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to mutual understanding.
ASEF Junior Fellowship
American Slovenian Education Foundation ∙ January 2022
The purpose of the fellowship program is to strengthen research and study exchange between Slovenia and other countries to give talented Slovenian students the ability to realize their potential to the fullest.
University of Ljubljana Best Student Award
University of Ljubljana ∙ June 2018
The University of Ljubljana Best Student Award is the highest honor granted annually to 30 students across all disciplines, recognizing their exceptional academic achievements and grades.
The Award of the Dean for exemplary completion of study requirements
University of Ljubljana ∙ December 2016
The Dean’s Award is an annual recognition given to the top-performing students in each academic year based on their academic achievements and grades. I have received this award for all three years of my bachelor’s studies and both years of my master’s studies.