Home | Ashley Tyrer

CV

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Employment

Current position (2026-present): Assistant Professor of Computational Neuroscience, Aarhus University, DK

Sep 2021 - Dec 2025: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Aarhus University, DK

Large-scale project management: design, development, and execution of large human neuroimaging data collection and analysis
Technical expertise: application of Bayesian statistical methods, machine learning, and computational modelling of human neuroimaging (including time series analysis) and behavioural data
Effective communication and dissemination of results: through regular local, national, and international conference presentations (talks and posters) and written publications
Eleven presentations (talks and posters) across five different countries

Education

PhD: Wellcome Trust Fellowship, Neural Dynamics, University of Bristol, UK

Thesis title: “Modelling of Behaviour and Neuroimaging in Decision Making and Memory Through Application of Variational Bayesian Methods, In Health and Disease”. Link to Thesis

Supervisor: Prof Rosalyn Moran

Dynamic Causal Modelling: model fitting and estimation of EEG data (brain activity time series analysis) in Alzheimer’s Disease patients compared to healthy aged control participants
Active Inference: computational modelling of human decision making, model inversion, and parameter recovery and estimation
Decision making: Human fMRI brain imaging data collection and analysis, examining the effect of noradrenaline on prediction error
Six presentations (talks and posters) across four different countries

BSc: First Class (Hons) Biomedical Sciences (Neuroscience), The University of Edinburgh, UK

Final Year Dissertation: ‘Genome Editing with CRISPR/Cas9 to Explore the Function of Neural Stem Cell-Affiliated Transcription Factors’

My curriculum vitae is available as a PDF:

Download CV

Publications

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Peer-Reviewed Publications

Tyrer A, Nikolova N, Dubois M, Banellis L, Vejlø M, Hauser T, Allen M (2026). Cortical Microstructural Variations Correlate with Individual Differences in Gamified Exploration–Exploitation Behaviours. Computational Psychiatry, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.5334/cpsy.164

Banellis L, Nikolova N, Ehmsen JF, Courtin AS, Vejlø M, Tyrer A, Böhme RA, Bavato F, Hoogervorst K, Fardo F, Allen MG (2026). Interoceptive performance is unrelated to mental health symptoms in a large multi-domain psychophysical investigation. Nature Mental Health, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-026-00688-4

Banellis L, Nikolova N, Ehmsen JF, Courtin AS, Vejlø M, Tyrer A, Böhme RA, Fardo F, Allen MG (2026). Interoceptive ability is uncorrelated across respiratory and cardiac axes in a large scale psychophysical study. Communications Psychology, 4(1), 43. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44271-026-00404-z

Tyrer A, Gilbert JR, Adams S, Stiles AB, Bankole AO, Gilchrist ID, Moran RJ (2020). Lateralized memory circuit dropout in Alzheimer’s disease patients. Brain Communications, 2(2), fcaa212. https://doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcaa212

Dewari PS, Southgate B, Mccarten K, Monogarov G, O’Duibhir E, Quinn N, Tyrer A, Leitner MC, Plumb C, Kalantzaki M, et al. (2018). An efficient and scalable pipeline for epitope tagging in mammalian stem cells using Cas9 ribonucleoprotein. eLife, 7, e35069. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.35069

Preprints

Tyrer A, Ehmsen JF, Hoogervorst K, Nikolova N, Pando-Naude V, Steenkjær CH, Courtin AS, Fardo F, Hauser T, Bavato F, et al. (2025). Peripheral beta-blockade differentially enhances cardiac and respiratory interoception. bioRxiv, 2025.02. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.02.28.640776

Vejlø M, Nikolova N, Banellis L, Tyrer A, Skvortsova V, Hauser T, Allen M (2026). Dissociable microstructural correlates of learning rate and learning noise in gamified reward-based decision-making. bioRxiv, 2026. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.02.24.707646

Hoogervorst K, Bavato F, Tyrer A, Allen M (2026). Dissociating Accuracy and Metacognition in Nutritional Judgements. OSF Preprints, 2026. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/5xhnk_v1

Book Chapters

Ashburner J, Barnes G, Chen CC, Daunizeau J, Flandin G, Friston K, Kiebel S, Kilner J, Litvak V, Moran R, et al. (2014). SPM12 Manual — Chapter 44: Dynamic Causal Modelling for Evoked Responses. Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, London, UK. Vol. 2464(4), p. 53. https://www.fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk/spm/doc/spm12_manual.pdf

Research

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Teaching

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Dynamic Causal Modelling for M/EEG

Dynamic Causal Modelling (DCM) is a modelling framework based on an idea originally developed for fMRI, in which measured data are explained by a network model consisting of a few sources which dynamically interact with one another. Through DCM, one can invert this network model through a Bayesian framework, allowing us to make inferences about connectivity between sources in the network and how these connections may be modulated by external input, for example, by task stimuli. This is known as effective connectivity.

I am an expert in DCM for evoked responses in MEG and EEG data, and I regularly teach the theoretical foundations and practical implementations of this framework. I continue to share my expertise in this biophysical modelling framework in lectures, tutorials, and workshops across the globe and in online resources. I regularly teach DCM for Evoked Responses at the annual SPM12 Course for EEG & MEG and the Computational Psychiatry Course, ETH Zürich.

I also contributed my knowledge of DCM to the Organisation for Human Brain Mapping 'How-To Series', providing a user-friendly online tutorial for specifying and estimating your own DCM. Click the thumbnail below to watch the free tutorial:

Fundamental Biomedical Signal Processing

In 2026, I will teach Fundamental Biomedical Signal Processing in collaboration with the Sino-Danish Centre for Education and Research. My lectures will cover a range of topics, from Fourier Series to filtering and time-frequency analyses.

Academic Activities

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Selected Talks

Organisation for Human Brain Mapping 2024, Seoul, Korea

At the OHBM 2024 Annual Meeting in Seoul, Korea, I was delighted to give a talk on interoception as a transdiagnostic biomarker for disorders affecting both physical and mental health. I presented some of the incredible work produced by multiple members of the Embodied Computation Group at Aarhus University, and also presented some of my preliminary findings on how central vs peripheral beta-adrenergic blockade affects predictive processing and interoception. Watch my talk at OHBM 2024 here:

Neuroscience Academy Denmark 2024, Copenhagen, Denmark

In autumn 2024, I was selected to give an Early Career Researcher Presentation at the Neuroscience Academy Denmark Annual Meeting in Copenhagen. I presented my recent work examining how central versus peripheral noradrenergic manipulations impact the neural signatures of predictive processing.

Outreach

OHBM Communications Committee

I joined the Organisation for Human Brain Mapping Communications Committee (OHBMComCom) in 2024 as a blog writer, and in 2026 took on the role of Chair-Elect. OHBMComCom provides accessible information about scientific advances in the field of human brain mapping and updates in the OHBM community via the OHBM Blog, NeuroSalience podcast, and Lay Media posts.

As part of my role in OHBMComCom, I was invited to speak in a symposium dedicated to scientific communication and outreach at the OHBM 2026 Annual Meeting. Here, I discussed the key aspects of making scientific communication accessible to a broader audience in multiple formats, whether it be blogging, podcasting, or via social media.

I have also interviewed a number of eminent researchers for the OHBM Blog, including Profs Rogier Mars, Mac Shine, and Joana Cabral. Watch my conversation with Joana Cabral by clicking the thumbnail below. All interviews for the OHBM Blog can be found here.

Podcast Appearances

In autumn 2025 I appeared on The SciComm Spectrum Podcast, hosted by Julia Masselos. The podcast highlights science communicators from a range of backgrounds from writers, filmmakers, and performers to entrepreneurs, educators and inventors. It was a great pleasure to discuss my research and why science communication matters to both our fellow scientists and the general public. Watch the podcast episode here:

Mentorship

Society for Philosophy and Neuroscience Collaborative Mentorship

In 2026 I was selected as a mentor for the Society for Philosophy and Neuroscience (SPAN) Collaborative Mentorship Program, funded by the Dana Foundation. As a Neuroscience mentor, I will collaborate with a philosophy expert to joint-mentor a selected PhD student, Eryn Sale, in an interdisciplinary research project which will be presented at the SPAN conference in 2027.

OIST Computational Neuroscience Course

In summer 2025, I had the pleasure of working as a tutor on the prestigious Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Computational Neuroscience Course (OCNC 2025). I was especially happy to return to the OCNC, as I had been selected to participate in the course as a PhD student seven years prior! During the three-week course, I gave a two-hour SPM12 workshop and provided one-on-one supervision to five PhD students on their mini-projects completed as part of the course.

OHBM Mentorship Program

In collaboration with the OHBM Student and Postdoc Student Interest Group (OHBM SP-SIG), I volunteer as a mentor on the SP-SIG International Online Mentorship Program. The mentorship program aims to support early-career mentees by providing advice on a variety of topics such as scientific and personal development, grant writing, and work-life balance.

Neuroscience Academy Denmark

In 2026 I was appointed as a NAD Column Speaker for the Brain States and Brain-Body Interactions column. As Column Speaker, I have the responsibility of organising a mini-symposium at the NAD Annual Meeting, in addition to developing and facilitating satellite column events throughout the year, with support from Neuroscience Academy Denmark. I have also contributed to the organisation of both the 2025 and 2026 Annual Meetings as a member of the NAD Scientific Organising Committee.

Contact

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You can contact me at:

Email: ashley(dot)tyrer(at)cfin.au.dk
LinkedIn: Ashley Tyrer
BlueSky: @ashleytyrer.bluesky.social
GitHub: AshleyTyrer

Cortical Microstructural Variations Correlate with Individual Differences in Gamified Exploration--Exploitation Behaviours

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Mon, 03 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Welcome

Mon, 03 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Welcome to my academic website blog. I will share updates on research, projects, and teaching.

Interoceptive performance is unrelated to mental health symptoms in a large multi-domain psychophysical investigation

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Dissociating Accuracy and Metacognition in Nutritional Judgements

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Dissociable microstructural correlates of learning rate and learning noise in gamified reward-based decision-making

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Interoceptive ability is uncorrelated across respiratory and cardiac axes in a large scale psychophysical study

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Peripheral beta-blockade differentially enhances cardiac and respiratory interoception

Thu, 06 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Lateralized memory circuit dropout in Alzheimer's disease patients

Thu, 10 Dec 2020 00:00:00 +0000

An efficient and scalable pipeline for epitope tagging in mammalian stem cells using Cas9 ribonucleoprotein

Mon, 01 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +0000

SPM12 Manual — Chapter 44: Dynamic Causal Modelling for Evoked Responses

Wed, 01 Jan 2014 00:00:00 +0000