Alamar Biosciences and Nightingale Health have launched a UK Biobank study that will measure hundreds of circulating proteins in 80,000 blood samples. The project aims to identify molecular signals associated with neurodegeneration, potentially before symptoms develop.
Announced on November 2, 2026, the UK Biobank Proteomics for Risk Identification and Signatures of brain health in Midlife (UKB-PRISM) study will be carried out in Nightingale Health’s laboratories using Alamar’s NULISA platform. The work is funded by the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, Alzheimer’s Research UK and LifeArc, and is expected to finish by the end of 2027.
NULISA, or NUcleic acid Linked Immuno-Sandwich Assay, uses antibodies tagged with DNA oligonucleotides to capture target proteins. After a capture-and-release step removes background signal, the DNA reporters are measured through next-generation sequencing. The approach is designed to detect proteins that may be too scarce for standard assays to measure reliably.
Researchers are investigating these signals because the biology behind Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease can begin years before diagnosis. According to the companies, Alzheimer’s and other dementias affect more than 55 million people worldwide, while Parkinson’s affects more than 12 million; both figures are projected to rise sharply by 2050.
Alamar founder, CEO and chair Yuling Luo said the study will allow researchers to measure these signals across tens of thousands of people and examine when and why the diseases begin. UK Biobank deputy chief scientist Adam Lewandowski noted that proteins perform many bodily functions, but their combined influence on brain health remains poorly understood.
The Michael J. Fox Foundation’s principal biomarker scientist, Samantha Hutten, said the data could help evaluate potential biomarkers and inform future therapeutic research. LifeArc CEO Sam Barrell said the resource could also support more accurate diagnosis of rare dementias, which can be difficult to distinguish because their symptoms overlap with those of other conditions.
Once the study is complete, the full dataset will be available to approved researchers worldwide through the UK Biobank Research Analysis Platform.