DeMarco lab
DeMarco Lab is dedicated to designing, building, and implementing biofluid diagnostics for patient care, focusing on protein biochemistry, analytical chemistry, and laboratory medicine. Located in Vancouver, Canada, at St. Paul's Hospital, the lab collaborates with healthcare providers and patients to develop diagnostics that address unmet medical needs, particularly in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Their work involves advanced techniques such as clinical mass spectrometry and biomarker discovery, aiming to improve early diagnosis and understanding of neurodegenerative disorders. The lab has received recognition for its innovative clinical proteomics, including the Michael S. Bereman Award, and continues to develop cutting-edge diagnostic methods, including mass spectrometry approaches for amyloid-beta isoforms and blood-based biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease.
Industries
Nr. of Employees
small (1-50)
Products
Automated LC-MS/MS method for amyloid-beta peptides in CSF
An automated clinical LC-MS/MS workflow for identification and quantification of amyloid-beta peptides in cerebrospinal fluid, extended to detect known sequence variants to improve analytical accuracy and enable identification of autosomal dominant cases.
Automated LC-MS/MS method for amyloid-beta peptides in CSF
An automated clinical LC-MS/MS workflow for identification and quantification of amyloid-beta peptides in cerebrospinal fluid, extended to detect known sequence variants to improve analytical accuracy and enable identification of autosomal dominant cases.
Services
Clinical biomarker testing program for neurodegenerative disease
Operation and coordination of a multi-site cerebrospinal fluid and blood biomarker testing service to support diagnostic evaluation and study of clinical and system-level impacts of biomarker testing.
Assay development and collaborative implementation for biofluid diagnostics
Collaborative development, validation and implementation of protein-based diagnostic assays, including method development, pre-analytical optimization, and clinical deployment in partnership with clinical teams and core facilities.
Advisory on biomarker test performance and implementation
Consultation and guidance on diagnostic test performance, interpretation, and implementation strategies for blood- and CSF-based biomarkers, including consideration of disease prevalence and public-health implications.
Clinical biomarker testing program for neurodegenerative disease
Operation and coordination of a multi-site cerebrospinal fluid and blood biomarker testing service to support diagnostic evaluation and study of clinical and system-level impacts of biomarker testing.
Assay development and collaborative implementation for biofluid diagnostics
Collaborative development, validation and implementation of protein-based diagnostic assays, including method development, pre-analytical optimization, and clinical deployment in partnership with clinical teams and core facilities.
Advisory on biomarker test performance and implementation
Consultation and guidance on diagnostic test performance, interpretation, and implementation strategies for blood- and CSF-based biomarkers, including consideration of disease prevalence and public-health implications.
Expertise Areas
- Clinical mass spectrometry
- Biofluid biomarker discovery and development
- Neurodegenerative disease diagnostics
- Targeted proteomics and proteoform characterization
Key Technologies
- Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)
- Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM)
- Triple quadrupole mass spectrometers
- High-resolution accurate-mass mass spectrometry