Tyrell is a second-year doctoral student in Sociology at Washington University in St. Louis. They use a socio-legal perspective in their research to understand how historical processes of social control reproduce inequality and shape contemporary social justice efforts and collective action, giving particular attention to systems of policing and criminal justice. Tyrell has conducted research on public perceptions of police as well as racial disparities in policing. This research has been published in the journals Race and Justice and Police Science and Management. Tyrell is currently exploring the ways news media outlets and the police engage in co-optation and discursive framing of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Tyrell received their B.A. in Sociology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and their M.A. in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Prior to their doctoral studies, Tyrell spent time working in higher education as an instructor and academic advisor.