Sam Boulger
Project title: Factors Determining Selective Neuronal Vulnerability in 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 Patricia Wood-Smith PhD Scholar at the UK Dementia Research Institute at Imperial College London, investigating selective neuronal vulnerability in Alzheimer’s disease. I initially joined the Matthews lab in the summer of 2022 when I spent three months as a UROP student, working on the development of an image analysis workflow.
Qualifications
- 2020-2023: BA Neuroscience, University of Oxford
Oral Presentations
I delivered a presentation titled 'Characterisation of neuronal subtypes selectively vulnerable to depletion in Alzheimer’s disease using imaging mass cytometry’ as a flash talk at ARUK Conference (Birmingham, February 2025), and as a full presentation at the UKDRI monthly meeting (May 2025).
Poster Presentations
I presented my work titled 'Characterisation of neuronal subtypes selectively vulnerable to depletion in Alzheimer’s disease using imaging mass cytometry’ as a poster at UKDRI Connectome (Harrogate, UK; November 2024), Cold Spring Harbour: Neurodegenerative Diseases and Therapeutics (NY, USA; December 2024), ARUK Conference (Birmingham, UK; February 2025), and AD/PD (Vienna, Austria; April 2025).
At a quantitative neuropathology workshop at the University of Oxford, I delivered a poster presentation titled ‘Characterisation of amyloid pathology in TREM2 R47H and R62H carriers with Alzheimer’s disease’.
I have also been allocated a poster presentation at AD/PD 2026 (Copenhagen, Denmark; March 2026), for work titled ‘Integrated multiplexed imaging and transcriptomics reveals determinants of selective neuronal vulnerability in the Alzheimer’s disease entorhinal cortex’.
Research Interests
My current research focuses on the use of highly multiplexed imaging techniques and transcriptomic approaches to investigate selective neuronal vulnerability in Alzheimer’s disease. Through my work, I aim to determine which neurons are lost in Alzheimer’s disease, why these neurons are especially vulnerable, and how we can pharmacologically limit the loss of these neurons.
Before moving to Imperial College, 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 unique experience gave me great insights into how different research environments operate.
Publications
Fancy, N.N. et al. Characterisation of premature cell senescence in Alzheimer’s disease using single nuclear transcriptomics. Acta Neuropathol 147, 78 (2024).
Mentoring
I am a keen advocate for socioeconomic equality in higher education and in academic research. I co-founded a non-profit mentoring service, Unlock Academia, which supported hundreds of students from socioeconomic groups typically underrepresented at top UK universities through the application process.
Contact Details
Email: s.boulger@imperial.ac.uk
