Professor Boardman aims to develop and evaluate neuroprotective strategies for babies at risk of brain injury and poor neurodevelopmental outcomes, focusing on preterm birth. He researches the role of neonatal quantitative MR imaging to investigate causal pathways to brain injury, the factors that confer risk or resilience to injury, and the relationship between neonatal MRI and outcomes in childhood. He is the scientific director of the Jennifer Brown Research Laboratory at the University of Edinburgh/MRC Centre for Reproductive Health.