USU Scientists Play Key Role in Developing Breakthrough Blood Test for Early ALS Detection

The American Genome Center (TAGC) at the Uniformed Services University (USU) drives genomic and proteomic analysis behind early ALS detection.  

Dr. Clifton L. Dalgard, director of The American Genome Center (TAGC) at USU, was a 

co-senior author on a study that achieved a breakthrough in the early detection of amyotrophic 

lateral sclerosis (ALS). A study published in August 2025 shows that signals connected to ALS 

can be found in blood samples years before symptoms begin. TAGC at USU provided essential 

expertise in large-scale genomic and proteomic analysis, which helped power the discovery. 

(Photo credit: Tom Balfour, USU)

September 16, 2025 by Sharon Holland

Researchers from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) have helped achieve a major breakthrough in the fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a devastating neurodegenerative disease. A new study, "A plasma proteomics-based candidate biomarker panel predictive of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis," published in Nature Medicine, August 19, 2025, shows that signals associated with ALS can be detected in the blood years before symptoms begin—offering the possibility of earlier diagnosis, better monitoring, and future preventive treatments.

Dr. Clifton L. Dalgard, professor in USU's

APG department and director of the TAGC.

(Photo credit: Tom Balfour, USU)

ALS, often known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, gradually destroys the nerve cells that control movement, leading to muscle weakness, paralysis, and ultimately death, usually within a few years of diagnosis. Currently, neurologists do not have a standalone method to detect the disease before symptoms appear. Most patients wait months, sometimes more than a year, before receiving a diagnosis, which delays treatment and prevents many from joining clinical trials in time.

The new study may change that. By analyzing blood samples with advanced proteomics—a technology that measures thousands of proteins at once—researchers identified a distinct molecular “signature” in people who would later develop ALS. Remarkably, these changes could be seen as much as a decade before patients noticed symptoms. Using machine learning, the team built a powerful predictive model that distinguished ALS patients from healthy individuals and from people with other neurological conditions with over 98 percent accuracy.

USU played a vital role in this international effort. Dr. Clifton L. Dalgard, professor in USU’s Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Genetics and director of The American Genome Center (TAGC), served as a co-senior author on the paper. TAGC contributed crucial expertise in large-scale genomic and proteomic analysis, which helped power the study’s discovery. “Our contributions through The American Genome Center reflect USU’s mission to advance health and readiness through state-of-art technology and large-scale biomedical research,” Dalgard says. “By applying next-generation sequencing and multi-dimensional data analysis, we were able to support this global collaboration and help uncover findings that could transform how ALS is diagnosed.”

The discovery is already being recognized as a potential game-changer in neuroscience and medicine. A simple blood test that can detect ALS years before symptoms appear could not only speed diagnosis but also allow researchers to identify people at higher risk and enroll them in clinical trials earlier. The same approach may also offer valuable insights into other neurological conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease, expanding its impact well beyond ALS.

“For patients and families, the promise of earlier detection means hope for a beneficial outcome and empowers future planning. If clinicians can identify ALS long before symptoms appear, they may one day intervene earlier, slow disease progression, and extend lives,” says Dalgard. “For researchers, it opens the door to new therapeutic strategies and a deeper understanding of how ALS develops.”