Rebecca Phelan

Rebecca graduated from University College London (UCL) in 2025, with a MSci in Natural Sciences, majoring in Neuroscience and Mathematics. During her studies, she fostered an interdisciplinary approach to research, using computational tools from a range of fields to address problems in biology. In her Bachelor's project she developed a biophysical model of ligan-gated ion channels and in her Master's thesis, under Prof Caswell Barry, she used reinforcement learning to model the hippocampus, exploring how the region supports reward-guided navigation and memory. 

Now Rebecca is pursuing a DPhil in clinical neuroscience, hoping to apply the tools and techniques from her research career to the treatment of neurological disorders. Her project aims to develop non-invasive brain stimulation approaches to understand the motor system, with potential clinical applications in the treatment of motor disorders like Parkinsons and tremor. This research is conducted jointly under the supervision of Prof Andrew Sharott (BNDU) and Prof Charlotte Stagg (PiNG), and is in collaboration with industry partner, Magstim.