Dr Alexander Shaw

I'm a Senior Lecturer in Neuroscience and Director of Business Engagement and Innovation, at the Department of Psychology at Exeter. My background training and research spans neurobiology, computational, imaging and theoretical neurosciences, psychiatry and psychedelics. 

My research focuses on understanding the pathophysiology of psychiatric diseases through the use of multimodal imaging techniques such as M/EEG, MRI, and PET, using pharmaco-imaging, psychedelic and anaesthetic drugs, machine learning, and computational modelling.

In practical terms, our work involves two main areas. First, we conduct experimental studies that examine the effects of drugs - mostly psychedelics and anaesthetics - on neuronal function in people living with psychiatric disease (e.g. through pharmaco-M/EEG).

Second, our computational work involves developing neurophysiologically-inspired generative models of the brain and optimization routines that estimate synaptic connectivity parameters based on imaging data. This area draws on principals from dynamical systems theory and theoretical AI. We believe that this multi-scale and multi-modal approach is the key to developing new and effective treatments for psychiatry.

www.cpnslab.com

We currently have several job/PhD opportunities in the group! See below.

1 - GW4 PhD Project (starting 2025): "Computing and translating mechanisms of neural network dysfunction associated with psychiatric risk" supervised by Prof Matt Jones (Bristol) and co-supervised Profs Jeremy Hall, Marianne van den Bree (Cardiff) & Me! (Exeter). Join our collaborative team of Sleep Detectives! https://gw4biomed.ac.uk/computing-and-translating-mechanisms-of-neural-network-dysfunction-associated-with-psychiatric-risk/

2 - GW4 PhD Project (starting 2025): "Neuroimaging brain reward systems to stratify patients across the psychosis spectrum" supervised by Dr Tom Lancaster (Bath), Prof Neil Harrison (Cardiff CUBRIC) and Me! (Exeter). More info:
https://gw4biomed.ac.uk/neuroimaging-brain-reward-systems-to-stratify-patients-across-the-psychosis-spectrum/

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1) We are currently advertising for a postdoc (Research Associate) in computational neuroscience (Nov 2023):
https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DEJ381/graduate-research-assistant-postdoctoral-research-associate

There are currently TWO fully funded PhD studentship available in the group (2023):

2) As part of the MRC programme grant, CONVERGE in collaboration with Cardiff, Bristol and UCL:

https://gw4biomed.ac.uk/developing-computational-models-of-psychosis-to-explore-the-impact-of-schizophrenia-associated-cnvs-on-cortical-microcircuitry/

3) And one in collaboration with Caroyln McNabb in Cardiff, using advanced neuroimaging, MEG and modelling to look at the pathophysiology of Schizophrenia (2023):

https://gw4biomed.ac.uk/a-multimodal-investigation-of-brain-structure-and-function-in-schizophrenia/