# Identifying biomarkers for the early detection of Alzheimer's disease using phage display

> **NIH NIH R15** · UNIVERSITY OF WEST FLORIDA · 2024 · $421,500

## Abstract

Project Summary
The long-term goal of this study is to develop a biomarker-based screening assay for the detection of
AD-related biochemical changes that can be measured in biofluids such as blood or CSF. The main goal
of this study is to identify phage-based probes to protein post-translational modifications (PTMs) of tau
that are associated with AD and its progression. This study will have multiple positive effects, including
more accurate diagnosis and improved ability to monitor disease progression. To accomplish this goal,
the project has one aim: Aim. Identify phage with high sensitivity and specificity for AD-related PTMs to
the tau protein in blood and CSF. Preliminary data from the previous grant demonstrated the proposed
method could differentially identify tau PTMs and differentiate between a pilot group of clinically
diagnosed AD and Control subjects in CSF. The current project aims to validate these findings in a larger
cohort of subjects, and extend the work into blood testing. AD diagnosis occurs relatively late in the
disease process, and many AD cases are misdiagnosed. This proposal addresses a significant gap in
developing robust biomarker arrays to assist in the more accurate detection of AD-related dementia.
Completing this study would be the next step to creating a PTM-based array of tau PTMs to improve
further the accuracy of diagnosis and monitoring of disease progression.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10974577
- **Project number:** 2R15AG066122-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WEST FLORIDA
- **Principal Investigator:** RODNEY P GUTTMANN
- **Activity code:** R15 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $421,500
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2020-03-01 → 2027-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10974577

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10974577, Identifying biomarkers for the early detection of Alzheimer's disease using phage display (2R15AG066122-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10974577. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*