Emmet Thompson

PhD student

with Liam McDaid and Bronac Flanagan

I graduated from Ulster University in June 2025 with a BSc in Computer Science. My PhD research area combines computational neuroscience and artificial intelligence. I aim to study how interactions between neurons and astrocytes can affect learning processes in the brain. For my research I develop computational models with neurons and astrocytes, and aim to extract biological processes that could be useful for the creation of more effective and efficient AI. I am currently looking at how astrocytic calcium dynamics can affect dendritic plateau potentials. By modelling this I hope to create an interpretable, biologically grounded learning rule based on the interactions seen.