The University of Washington was awarded a $427,625 Project Grant from the National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866 - Aging Research) to develop and validate blood-based biomarker assays for improved diagnosis and differential diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (PD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA). The project aims to fine-tune and optimize Apogee flow cytometry and RT-QuIC assays to analyze extracellular vesicles carrying brain cell-specific and disease-related protein markers, such as α-synuclein, Aβ, and tau. These optimized assays will be validated in two independent plasma sample cohorts to establish rapid screening and highly accurate blood-based biomarker tools that can aid in PD and MSA diagnosis and disease tracking, potentially reducing the need for more invasive cerebrospinal fluid tests. The project period runs from Sep 30, 2024 to Sep 29, 2026.