Sam Boulger
Project title: What makes a neuron vulnerable to early Alzheimer’s disease?
Supervisors: Professor Paul M Matthews, Dr Eugene Duff, Dr Javier Alegre Abarrategui
Location: Level 7, Sir Michael Uren Hub, White City Campus, 86 Wood Lane, W12 0BZ
About me
I am an Alzheimer's Research UK (ARUK) Patricia Wood-Smith PhD Scholar in the Department of Brain Sciences at Imperial College London, investigating selective neuronal vulnerability in Alzheimer’s disease. I initially spent three months in my current lab in the summer of 2022 as an Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme (UROP) student, working on the development of an image analysis pipeline.
Qualifications
- 2020-2023: BA Neuroscience, University of Oxford
Research Interests
I have a broad range of interests within the field of neuroscience, ranging from neuropsychopharmacology to neurodegeneration. My current research focuses on the use of imaging mass cytometry and transcriptomic approaches to investigate selective neuronal vulnerability in Alzheimer’s disease. The findings from my initial work will hopefully be used to develop novel biomarkers for earlier diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease, and to propose new targets from pharmacological intervention.
Before moving to Imperial College London, I graduated from the University of Oxford with a BA in Neuroscience. I undertook my undergraduate research project within the group of Professor Hayriye Cagnan, investigating the effect of transcranial random noise stimulation on cognitive control. Additionally, I completed a specialist review under the guidance of Professor David Bannerman on the effects on visual recognition of combined and separate ablations of the entorhinal and perirhinal cortex in rhesus monkeys.
In the summer of 2023, I visited the Cuban Centre for Neuroscience in Havana where I assisted in the volumetric analysis of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from individuals with autism spectrum disorder. This experience gave me great insights into how different research environments operate.
Mentoring
Co-founder of a non-profit mentoring service, Unlock Academia, which aims to improve social mobility by increasing access to top universities.
Contact Details
Email: s.boulger@imperial.ac.uk
How temperature and circadian rhythms intersect to regulate a protein shown to protect against neurodegeneration
A new study led by Dr Marco Brancaccio (UK DRI at Imperial) and Dr Marieke Hoekstra (former UK DRI at Imperial, now VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research) offers a deeper insight into how a neuroprotective pathway is regulated both by temperature and the body clock. This research, published in the journal PNAS, could open up new therapeutic avenues for neurodegenerative disease. Read more on the UK DRI website
Introducing Cynthia Sandor: Pioneering earlier detection of Parkinson’s
Dr Cynthia Sandor, former Emerging Leader at the UK DRI at Cardiff, joins the UK DRI at Imperial as a Group Leader, where she will be tackling early diagnosis of Parkinson’s.
With a background in genetics, Dr Sandor uses computational methods to bring greater understanding to the underlying molecular mechanisms of Parkinson’s. Read more about Cynthia's work on the UK DRI website.
