Lenora Higginbotham, MD

2026 CURE ONE, CURE MANY AWARD IN LEWY BODY DEMENTIA

Leveraging Proteomics to Identify Plasma Biomarkers of Disease Heterogeneity in LBD 

Institution: Emory University, Atlanta, GA 

Co-Principal Investigators and Institutions: Nicholas Seyfried, PhD, Emory University

Despite having the same diagnosis, individuals with Lewy body dementia (LBD) can differ from each other in terms of their symptoms and underlying biology. This diversity, at a molecular level, is referred to as disease heterogeneity. To develop accessible methods to diagnose LBD in living patients, researchers must first identify the key biological signatures that correspond to different molecular processes and disease traits. 

Dr. Higginbotham’s team will study LBD plasma samples (collected from nearly 300 individuals identified to have had Parkinson’s disease-associated cognitive decline or related dementia with Lewy bodies) using a method called proteomic analysis. This refers to a large-scale, comprehensive study of all the proteins in a cell. They will employ machine-learning approaches to help identify differences in protein measurements among the samples that correspond with how the disease presents itself clinically. This will help scientists better understand individual variability in LBD, and thereby help to improve precision in diagnosis, prediction, and treatment. 

Dr. Higginbotham was also a recipient of an American Brain Foundation Next Generation Research Grant for LBD in 2020.  

This $1 million award is funded in collaboration with the Alzheimer’s Association and the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.