Sam completed his undergraduate degree in Biology, Neuroscience, and Children's Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, where he researched the effects of socioeconomic status on childhood brain development as part of the Human Connectome Project, the Cognitive Control & Psychopathology Lab, and the Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. He is conducting a collaborative PhD between the University of Cambridge and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States under the auspices of two mentors: (i) Dr. Kate Baker, Head of the Genomic Disorders & Cognitive Development Program at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, and (ii) Dr. Chris McBain, Scientific Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). The objective of his research is to characterize the clinical phenotype, pathophysiology, and molecular/genetic underpinnings of a group of neurodevelopmental disorders distinguished by abnormalities in synaptic vesicle cycling, exemplified by SYT1-related Baker-Gordon syndrome. A deeper appreciation of this rare SYT1-related neurodevelopmental disorder might offer broader insights into the role of dysfunctional vesicle trafficking in other developmental and degenerative neuropathologies, such as epilepsy, autism, ADHD, and Parkinson’s, and may lead to novel interventions to improve the quality of life for patients and their families. 

This doctoral work is supported by the Gates Cambridge and NIH Oxford-Cambridge scholarships.