Project Title: Multi-‘omic Characterisation of Vulnerable Synaptic Components in Alzheimer’s Disease
Supervisor: Dr Johanna Jackson, Dr Samuel Barnes
Location: Level 7, Sir Michael Uren Hub, White City Campus, 86 Wood Lane, W12 0BZ
About Me
I am a PhD student in the Jackson Lab in the Department of Brain Sciences, within the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) centre at Imperial College London. My project focuses on comprehensively characterising molecular alterations in synapses in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). My research aims to shed light on novel candidate biomarkers and drug targets for synaptopathy. Before starting my PhD, I completed a BSc in Medical Biosciences at Imperial, where I conducted my final-year project in the Grossman Lab at the UKDRI, investigating how temporal interference stimulation affects microglia. This experience sparked my interest in dementia research and motivated me to pursue an MSc in Dementia Neuroscience at University College London (UCL).
I undertook my MSc dissertation in the Hong lab at the UK DRI, where I investigated the role of an astrocytic protein in synapse elimination in AD. After graduating in 2022, I joined the Morris lab at the Queen Square Institute of Neurology (UCL) as a research assistant, where I investigated associations of genetic risk and neuropathology in movement disorders. During my career in the dementia field, I have developed a keen interest in bridging the gap between molecular discovery science and clinical translation, which led me to pursue my PhD.
Qualifications
Degree Qualifications:
- MSc Honours Neuroscience, University College London
- BSc Honours Medical Biosciences, Imperial College London
Presentations and Conferences
- Course: Introduction to multi-omics data integration and visualisation – EMBL-EBI, 2024
- Poster: UKDRI Connectome, 2024
- Presentation: Alzheimer's Society and philanthropic donors, 2024
- Poster: DPUK Translation, 2025
- Poster: Alzheimer’s Association AAIC, 2025
- Poster: UKDRI Connectome, 2025
- Poster: AD/PD, 2026
Selected Publications
Sokolova, D., Ghansah, S. A., Puletti, F., Georgiades, T., De Schepper, S., Zheng, Y., Crowley, G., Wu, L., Rueda-Carrasco, J., Koutsiouroumpa, A., Muckett, P., Freeman, O. J., Khakh, B. S., & Hong, S. (2024). Astrocyte-derived MFG-E8 facilitates microglial synapse elimination in Alzheimer's disease mouse models. bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology, 2024.08.31.606944. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.08.31.606944
Vaughan, D. P., Fumi, R., Theilmann Jensen, M., Georgiades, T., Wu, L., Lux, D., Obrocki, R., Lamoureux, J., Ansorge, O., Allinson, K., Warner, T. T., Jaunmuktane, Z., Misbahuddin, A., Leigh, P. N., Ghosh, B., Bhatia, K. P., Church, A., Kobylecki, C., Hu, M., Rowe, J. B., … Jabbari, E. (2024). Evaluation of cerebrospinal fluid alpha-synuclein seed amplification assay in PSP and
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