SEATTLE and DOHA, Qatar — January 28, 2026 — Leads & Copy — Nautilus Biotechnology, Inc., Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q), and The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) have announced a research collaboration focused on the connection between the alpha-synuclein (aSyn) protein and Parkinson’s disease (PD).
The project, supported by a $1.6 million research grant from MJFF, will combine the Lashuel lab’s expertise in neurodegeneration’s molecular and chemical biology with Nautilus’ platform for measuring proteins and their functional variants, called proteoforms, at single-molecule resolution.
MJFF considers understanding the forms and modifications of alpha-synuclein a key priority, as these differences may improve understanding of PD biology and variability across individuals. The Foundation supports technologies to better characterize alpha-synuclein proteoforms and related pathways to generate insights that can inform future clinical research, strengthen biomarker development, and guide the design and outcomes of clinical trials.
Studies suggest that the protein aSyn may be a critical driver of PD pathogenesis and that post-translational modifications (PTMs) of the protein, including truncation and phosphorylation, could serve as possible drivers of pathogenesis and biomarkers for diagnosis. Current proteomics approaches are limited in their ability to measure specific proteoforms of aSyn and how those proteoforms impact disease progression.
Nautilus, WCM-Q, and MJFF aim to develop a single-molecule assay to measure a large panel of aSyn proteoforms, enabling new approaches to early detection, disease stratification, and disease monitoring for PD and related synucleinopathies.
Nautilus is pioneering a single-molecule platform and Iterative Mapping method with the potential to scale to disease targets including aSyn and tau proteins. The company’s recent preprint describes the initial validation and real-world capabilities of the platform for tau proteins.
Parag Mallick, Ph.D., co-founder and Chief Scientist of Nautilus, stated the company is proud to receive a research grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research and partner with the collaborative teams at MJFF and the Lashuel lab at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar to shed light on the underlying role of alpha-synuclein in Parkinson’s disease and to support efforts to advance biomarker research in Parkinson’s disease. He added that the collaboration indicates the next-generation sensitivity, dynamic range, reproducibility, and versatility that their proteomics technology brings to neurodegenerative research and beyond.
The lab of Hilal A. Lashuel, Ph.D., Professor of Neuroscience at WCM-Q, has studied aSyn’s PTMs for decades, developed novel chemical-biology tools to develop proteoform standards, and developed a set of antibodies that target specific PTMs. WCM-Q and Nautilus expect the technologies they created to form the foundation of the aSyn proteoform assay.
Dr. Lashuel stated that deciphering alpha-synuclein proteoforms at the single-molecule level holds promise for advancing Parkinson’s disease diagnostics and therapies. He added that he looks forward to working jointly with Nautilus and MJFF to realize this potential by developing innovative assays and technologies that will enable precise mapping of the post-translational modification signatures of alpha-synuclein in health and neurodegenerative disease.
Shalini Padmanabhan, PhD, Senior Vice President of Discovery and Translational Research at MJFF, stated that the Foundation supports research that advances understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying Parkinson’s disease. She added that by investing in innovative approaches to study proteins such as alpha-synuclein, they aim to strengthen the foundation for future biomarker and therapeutic research through collaborations across academia and industry.
Nautilus Biotechnology, Inc. is a development stage life sciences company working to create a platform technology for quantifying and unlocking the complexity of the proteome.
Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar is a partnership between Cornell University and Qatar Foundation. It offers a comprehensive Six-Year Medical Program leading to the Cornell University M.D. degree. Through its biomedical research program, WCM-Q is building a sustainable research community in Qatar while advancing basic science and clinical research.
Source: Nautilus Biotechnology, Inc.
