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Sam Crawford
Name:
Sam Crawford
Job Title:
PhD Student
Place of work / study:
University College London
Area of research?
My PhD project looks specifically at a rare inherited condition called Familial British Dementia (FBD). I use stem cells (iPSCs) that we generate from patient skin biopsies to better understand FBD by developing neuronal and microglial disease models in vitro.
How is your research funded:
Alzheimer’s Research UK funded PhD Scholarship
Tell us a little about yourself:
I graduated in 2020 with an MSci in Neuroscience from the University of Nottingham. My degree included a placement year at Lund University where I worked to develop stem cell models of rare neurodegenerative diseases. I joined UCL in 2022 as an iPSC technician, working between the UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL and the Institute of Neurology to facilitate stem cell research across multiple groups and projects. I was fortunate to be awarded a scholarship by ARUK for my PhD project, supervised by Prof. Selina Wray and Dr Charlie Arber which commenced in October 2023.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself:
As an undergrad I lived in Sweden for a year, getting messy hair from wearing hair nets in the cell labs earned me the rude nickname ‘knullrufs’ (google it).
Why did you choose to work in dementia research?
One of my first jobs was working in a dementia-specialist care home. Here I saw the impact of dementia on both patients and their families. I became fascinated by the complexity of neurodegenerative disease and the emerging field of stem cells and decided to pursue a career in dementia research.
What single piece of advice would you give to an early career researcher?
Don’t take failed experiments personally.
What book are you reading right now? Would you recommend it?
If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin. Yes and anything else written by the same author.
Favourite ways to unplug and unwind?
Not sure
Favourite film of all time?
Not sure
Emily Spencer
Adam Smith
