Ashleigh Vella is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Healthy Brain Aging (CHeBA), UNSW Sydney. Her research focuses on the modifiable risk factors for dementia, using machine learning techniques and data from  Cohort Studies of Memory in an International Consortium (COSMIC). Additionally, Ashleigh works with large longitudinal datasets, such as the Older Australian Twin Study (OATS), to investigate genetic and environmental influences on aging and dementia.  

Ashleigh completed (2023) her PhD at the University of Queensland, investigating the decisional mechanisms underlying self-biased cognition. Her research used complex computational modelling to understand the cognitive processes involved in self-relevant decisions. During her PhD, Ashleigh has been successful in securing competitive grant funds (CPCN seeding grant), volunteered as a HDR representative for the UQ Psychology Research Committee, and was the recipient of the UQ living allowance and Career Development Scholarship.

Prior to this, Ashleigh graduated from the University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours), achieving first class Honours. She was also awarded Valedictorian, the Henry Law Prize, and University Medal in 2018. During her undergraduate degree, Ashleigh worked as a research assistant for the Perception and Action Lab.