Beyond neurofilaments: a multidimensional blood signature for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Product:

CNS Disease Panel 120

Topic:

CNS

Disease Area:

ALS, Motor Neuron Disease

Sample Type:

Serum

Topic/Product:

CNS Disease Panel 120

Disease Area:

ALS, Motor Neuron Disease

Sample Type:

Serum

Abstract

This scientific commentary refers to ‘Blood-based biomarker discovery in motor neuron disease using nucleic acid-linked immuno-sandwich assay’, by Bozkurt et al. (https://doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcag180).

Motor neuron disease (MND), including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), remains one of the most devastating neurodegenerative disorders, marked by clinical heterogeneity, delayed diagnosis, and limited therapeutic success. A central barrier to progress has been the lack of accessible, reliable targets that capture disease biology while enabling early diagnosis and monitoring. New precision proteomic technologies have transformed our ability to study ALS/MND through accessible patient biospecimens such as blood and CSF. Highly sensitive, multiplexed proteomic platforms, including Nucleic Acid Linked Immuno-Sandwich Assay (NULISA), Olink, SomaScan, and Simoa have enabled increasingly detailed molecular profiling of ALS patient biofluids and accelerated the discovery of blood-based biomarkers associated with disease diagnosis, progression, and biological heterogeneity.

Authors & Affiliations

1 Department of Neurology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA

2 Department of Cell Biology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA

Steve Williams, MD, PhD

CSO

Dr. Willams serves as the company’s Chief Scientific Officer. He was previously Chief Medical Officer at Standard Biotools and at SomaLogic where he pioneered the discipline for discovery and validation of predictive, diagnostic and prognostic models using machine-learning applied to large-plex proteomics. 20 such tests were used for drug characterization, safety and efficacy when incorporated in clinical drug trials at Pharma/Biotech and 17 different multivariate tests were validated and translated into regulated healthcare uses. Prior to SomaLogic, Dr. Williams was at Pfizer in the UK and the USA as a clinical triallist in Translational Medicine, and subsequently as VP, Global Clinical Technology. He sat on the National Advisory Council for the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, the Executive Committee for the FNIH Biomarkers Consortium, and worked with FDA and PhRMA on developing evidentiary standards for biomarker qualification. Dr. William’s medical training was in London, at Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School, followed by a PhD in medicine/physiology at the same institution and training in Radiology at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne. Steve is co-inventor on 26 proteomics patents and author/coauthor on multiple foundational proteomics manuscripts.

Justin McAnear

CFO

Mr. McAnear serves as the company’s Chief Financial Officer. He brings over 25 years of operational and financial leadership experience across various sectors and was instrumental in taking 10x Genomics public in 2019, serving as its CFO for over five years. Mr. McAnear served for over 3 years as Tesla’s VP of Worldwide Finance and Operations, supporting landmark initiatives such as the Model X and Model 3 launches and Solar City acquisition. He also held various roles at Apple and J&J earlier in his career and served as a naval officer and aviator for over 9 years.