Blood tests for Alzheimer’s disease markers
Fluid Biomarker Core
This program builds and runs ultra-sensitive blood tests to find and track Alzheimer’s markers for people at risk of or living with dementia.
Quick facts
| Grant type | P01 program project |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Pittsburgh, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11078779 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
This core organizes how blood is collected, handled, stored, and tested using ultra-sensitive assays for Alzheimer’s-related proteins. It provides continuous biomarker results to linked research projects and works with neuroimaging and neuropathology teams to validate blood findings against brain scans and postmortem results. The core partners with large multi-site studies to combine data and improve reliability across centers and holds regular meetings to standardize methods. It also provides hands-on training for students, postdocs, and faculty in fluid biomarker methods.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are people at risk for Alzheimer’s, those with memory concerns or a dementia diagnosis, or volunteers enrolled in collaborating clinical studies who can give blood samples.
Not a fit: People without cognitive concerns who are not part of collaborating studies and those unwilling to provide blood samples are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this core.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could enable simple blood tests to detect or monitor Alzheimer’s disease earlier and more reliably.
How similar studies have performed: Recent studies have shown promising results for plasma amyloid and tau measures, so this core builds on assays that have already shown early success.
Where this research is happening
Pittsburgh, United States
- University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh — Pittsburgh, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Pascoal, Tharick — University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh
- Study coordinator: Pascoal, Tharick
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.