Alamar Bio partners with German healthy aging study to discover protein biomarkers associated with inflammation and neurodegeneration.
Precision proteomics company Alamar Biosciences has teamed up with the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) to apply its technology to one of the most comprehensive population-based aging studies in the world – the DZNE Rhineland Study. The collaboration will enable researchers to analyze 23,000 plasma samples for protein biomarkers associated with healthy aging, inflammation and neurodegenerative diseases.
The Rhineland Study is designed to follow thousands of individuals over decades, combining clinical, imaging, genetic and lifestyle data to understand the biological and environmental factors influencing brain health and disease development. By integrating proteomic profiling into this dataset, researchers aim to detect early molecular changes linked to cognitive decline and dementia, improving knowledge of aging trajectories and risk stratification for conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.
“Understanding aging and dementia requires both advanced technology and deeply characterized cohorts,” said the study’s principal investigator, Professor Monique Breteler. “Integrating Alamar’s multiplex panels into our research opens new opportunities to decode the molecular signatures of brain aging.”
Alamar’s technology is designed to measure hundreds of proteins associated with brain health using very small blood volumes, offering both high sensitivity and specificity. A key feature is its ability to differentiate brain-derived phosphorylated tau from total phosphorylated tau in plasma, a capability that can provide early insight into pathological processes underlying neurodegenerative disease. Alongside this, the company’s technology enables the detailed analysis of immune-related proteins, supporting research into how inflammation influences aging and neurodegeneration.
Alamar CEO Dr Yuling Luo hailed the partnership as a “major step” for aging and dementia research. “With NULISA’s unmatched sensitivity and the depth of the DZNE Rhineland Study, we can uncover novel protein biomarkers that reveal the trajectories of cognitive health and disease progression in aging populations,” he said.
The collaboration is intended to leverage Alamar’s technical advances and the deep characterization of the Rhineland Study to accelerate biomarker discovery and precision diagnostics. It is hoped that combining longitudinal proteomic data with existing imaging, genetic and clinical information will enable researchers to track molecular changes over time, reveal early disease signatures and inform the development of targeted interventions for age-related brain disorders.
