Seattle, Wash. — Parse Biosciences is partnering with researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai to generate a large-scale single-cell RNA sequencing dataset aimed at uncovering new insights into Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. The project, supported by Parse’s GigaLab facility, will analyze more than 10 million cells from over 1,000 patient samples in one of the most ambitious efforts to date to study neurodegenerative disease at the single-cell level.
Led by Dr. Towfique Raj, a faculty member at Mount Sinai’s Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer’s Disease, the study will examine alternative splicing—an often overlooked post-transcriptional mechanism that may play a role in disease onset and progression. Unlike traditional studies that focus on DNA, this research will delve into how RNA is processed in individual cells, offering a more detailed view of molecular activity in neurodegeneration.
Mount Sinai researchers will analyze peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) collected from patients with confirmed Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s diagnoses. Once prepared, the samples will be sent to Parse’s GigaLab, a high-throughput sequencing center equipped with the company’s Evercode chemistry, which enables scalable and high-resolution single-cell profiling.
Dr. Raj emphasized the significance of the effort: “We’re excited to explore how alternative splicing events may be contributing to these diseases. Projects like this are essential for building the models we need to better understand and eventually treat neurodegenerative conditions.”
Parse Biosciences CTO Dr. Charlie Roco said the GigaLab’s capabilities are accelerating the pace of discovery. “This collaboration exemplifies how large-scale, high-quality data can drive meaningful progress in understanding complex diseases.”
The dataset produced from the study is expected to serve as a resource for future research into the mechanisms behind neurodegenerative disorders, potentially opening new paths for diagnostics and therapeutic development.
