Lily Shepherdly

PhD student

with Liam McDaid and Bryan Gardiner

I completed my Bachelor’s degree in Medical Engineering at Swansea University and a Master’s in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southampton. In my PhD research, I plan to explore how increased variability in brain properties may impact neural development and contribute to neurodevelopmental disorders, specifically autism. My research will use computational models to investigate the effects of variance on neural circuits and their potential role in autism-specific behaviours and symptoms. I aim to combine artificial and biologically plausible neural network models with empirical data analysis to better understand these mechanisms.