Dr Alexander Shaw
Senior Lecturer, Co-Director of Business Engagement and Innovation
A.D.Shaw@exeter.ac.uk
Washington Singer
Washington Singer Laboratories, University of Exeter, Perry Road, Prince of Wales Road, Exeter, EX4 4QG, UK
Overview
I'm an academic in 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, my work involves two main areas. Firstly, I conduct “pharmaco-M/EEG” studies that examine the effects of drugs - mostly psychedelics and anaesthetics - on neuronal function in people living with psychiatric disease. Secondly, I work on developing neurophysiologically-inspired generative models of the brain using mathematical optimization routines that estimate synaptic connectivity parameters based on imaging data. This area draws heavily on principals from theoretical AI and dynamical systems theory.
I believe that this multi-scale and multi-modal approach is the key to developing new and effective treatments for psychiatry.
Besides research, I am also co-director of Business Enagagement and Innovation, MRI liaison and a personal tutor. I also host UG, PGT & PGR in my group.
Alongside Wellcome and MRC funding, I hold some industry collaborations across biotech, medtech and drinks industries.
Computational Psychiatry & Neuropharmacological Systems Lab (CPNS Lab - here.
We currently have several job opportunities in the group! See below.
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:
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/
We will soon be recuiting further PhD and postdoctoral team mates!
Links
Research group links
Research
Research interests
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, my work involves two main areas. Firstly, I conduct “pharmaco-M/EEG” studies that examine the effects of drugs - mostly psychedelics and anaesthetics - on neuronal function in people living with psychiatric disease. Secondly, I work on developing neurophysiologically-inspired generative models of the brain using mathematical optimization routines that estimate synaptic connectivity parameters based on imaging data. This area draws heavily on principals from theoretical AI and dynamical systems theory.
Research projects
I work on a number of projects across computational psychiatry, including clinical neuroimaging (M/EEG, MRI, PET), neuropharmacology and computational neuroscience.
Example projects we're currently working on:
- The Sleep Detectives: Sleep stratification in young people at high risk of psychosis [Wellcome] (with Prof Matt Jones, Bristol et al).
- EEG study examining changes in synaptic plasticity and oscillations in gambling addicts before and after ketamine administration (with Prof Celia Morgan and PARC). https://psychology.exeter.ac.uk/bamstudy/
- Parameter estimation and identifiability in neural masses (with Dr Marc Goodfellow and Alessia Caccamo)
- Modelling thalamo-cortical dynamics under psychedelics (Joy Krecke).
- Modelling fronto-pareital networks as targets of ketamine therapy in acute depression (with Drs Rachael Sumner, Suresh Muthukumaraswamy in Auckland).
- Reconciling neuronal circuits, symptomology and the free energy principcal in psychosis.
- CONVERGE: Developing computational models of psychosis to explore the impact of schizophrenia-associated CNVs on cortical microcircuitry [MRC] (with Profs Jeremy Hall, Krish Singh, Marianne van den Bree, Cardiff & Prof Matt Jones, Bristol & Prof Karl Friston, UCL).
- Using EEG and neuronal modelling to in-silico assay GABAergic receptor dynamics under alcohol and an alcohol-like botanical GABA drink.
Research networks
I work with a number of collaborators in Exeter, across the UK and the world.
UK:
- Prof Celia Morgan, Exeter Psychology
- Dr Marc Goodfellow, Exeter Maths
- Prof Krish Singh, CUBRIC Cardiff
- Prof Matt Jones, Bristol Neuroscience
- Prof Jeremy Hall, Cardiff Medicine
- Prof Rosalyn Moran, KCL
- Prof David Nutt, Imperial
- Dr Meg Spriggs, Imperial
- Prof James Rowe, Cambridge
- Prof Karl Friston, UCL
International:
- Dr Rachael Sumner, Auckland
- A Prof Suresh Muthukumaraswamy, Auckland
Research grants
- 2022 Wellcome Trust
Improving Cognitive and Functional Outcomes in People Experiencing, or at Risk of Psychosis. £1M. - 2022 GABALabs
Industry match funding from GABALabs - 2021 MRC
Convergent endophenotypes derived from psychiatric genetics. £3.5M. - 0 BBSRC
Our vision is to form a new partnership across mathematics and psychology to significantly advance the mathematical and computational tools that are available to understand the brain dynamics of cognition. £200k.
Links
Publications
Journal articles
Teaching
- PSY2209 Cognition Practical 1 - projects in the area of inhibition.
- PSY3451 Clinical Neuroscience: Brains, Drugs and Psychiatry.
- PSYM225Z Biological Psychology.
Modules
2023/24
Supervision / Group
Postgraduate researchers
- Lioba Berndt (Staff) - Sleep Detectives / computational neuroscience
- Alessia Caccamo. PhD (Maths). Mathematical models to understand large-scale brain dynamics. Supervised (50/50) with Prof Marc Goodfellow.
- Linxi Chen. (Postgraduate). Attachment types and cortical oscillatory responses to alcohol.
- Rose Diebel. (Postgraduate). Modelling thalamo-cortical dynamics from sleep EEG in young people at high risk of psychosis. Part of The Sleep Detectives programme.
- Raphaelle Grimaud (Intern)
- Joy Krecke. (Staff). Exploring the Neurobiological and Psychological Mechanisms of Ketamine in Problematic Gambling: A Mechanistic Study.
- Katya Rak. (Postgraduate). Elucidating the synaptic mechanisms underwriting the antidepressant properties of ketamine using realistic generative models of cortex.
- Victoria Smart. (Postgraduate). Modelling cortical prediction errors under ketamine in gambling disorder: An EEG Auditory Mismatch Negativity Study.
- Cloe Westaway. (Postgraduate). Comparing the effects of acute alcohol and a novel GABAergic botanical drink on cortical responses.