Ava Rijkers

PhD student

with Liam McDaid and Bronac Flanagan

I completed my bachelor's degree in computer science at Ulster University in June 2025. During my final year, I developed an interest in computational neuroscience while working on biophysical models of psychological disorders. My PhD research will focus on developing computational models of the tripartite synapse to improve the explainability of AI while maintaining biological plausibility. I plan to incorporate astrocytic dynamics with the Bienenstock-Cooper-Munro (BCM) learning rule to make a lightweight and interpretable model.