Meet our SPARK Fellows

Introducing Cohort 8

Christina Coughlan Image

Christina Coughlan, PhD

Plasma Exosomes as Biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)

Plasma Exosomes as Biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) affects over 7 million individuals in the U.S., with onset preceding clinical symptoms by up to 20 years. Current diagnostic methods like PET imaging and CSF analysis are invasive and costly, unsuitable for early detection. This project introduces AD-Exo, a blood-based assay that matches PET imaging accuracy by measuring biomarkers in neuron-derived exosomes from a standard blood draw. AD-Exo can diagnose AD and monitor treatment efficacy, enabling community-level screening and early detection. The team aims to demonstrate AD-Exo's sensitivity, distinguish it from other neurodegenerative diseases, and optimize assay time and throughput for commercialization.

Learn more about Dr. Coughlan

Cohort 7

Jessica Rove, MD

Jessica Rove, MD

Colorado Chest Tube

Juan-Pablo Idrovo, MD

Juan-Pablo Idrovo, MD

Gastrostomy Tube Guardian

Rui Zhao, PhD

Rui Zhao, PhD

Developing a First-in-Class Allosteric Eya2 Tyrosine Phosphatase Inhibitor for Brain Cancer Therapy

Sujatha Venkataraman, PhD

Development of Gated Dual-antigen Targeting CAR-T Cell Therapy to Treat ATRT, an Aggressive Brain Tumor in Children

zhirui_wang_500

Zhirui Wang, PhD

Bivalent CD47 Immunotoxin for Targeted Therapy of T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and Other CD47+ Cancers

Cohort 6

Christina Coughlan Image

Christina Coughlan, PhD

Plasma Exosomes as Biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)

Plasma Exosomes as Biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) affects over 7 million individuals in the U.S., with onset preceding clinical symptoms by up to 20 years. Current diagnostic methods like PET imaging and CSF analysis are invasive and costly, unsuitable for early detection. This project introduces AD-Exo, a blood-based assay that matches PET imaging accuracy by measuring biomarkers in neuron-derived exosomes from a standard blood draw. AD-Exo can diagnose AD and monitor treatment efficacy, enabling community-level screening and early detection. The team aims to demonstrate AD-Exo's sensitivity, distinguish it from other neurodegenerative diseases, and optimize assay time and throughput for commercialization.

Learn more about Dr. Coughlan

Cohort 5

Christina Coughlan Image

Christina Coughlan, PhD

Plasma Exosomes as Biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)

Plasma Exosomes as Biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) affects over 7 million individuals in the U.S., with onset preceding clinical symptoms by up to 20 years. Current diagnostic methods like PET imaging and CSF analysis are invasive and costly, unsuitable for early detection. This project introduces AD-Exo, a blood-based assay that matches PET imaging accuracy by measuring biomarkers in neuron-derived exosomes from a standard blood draw. AD-Exo can diagnose AD and monitor treatment efficacy, enabling community-level screening and early detection. The team aims to demonstrate AD-Exo's sensitivity, distinguish it from other neurodegenerative diseases, and optimize assay time and throughput for commercialization.

Learn more about Dr. Coughlan

Cohort 4

Cohort 3

Cohort 2

Cohort 1

CU Innovations

CU Anschutz

Anschutz Health Sciences Building

1890 N Revere Ct

Suite 6202

Mail Stop F411

Aurora, CO 80045


303-724-3720

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