Auburn chemists search for Alzheimer's clues hidden in blood

Before Alzheimer’s disease announces itself through forgotten names, misplaced keys or the slow unraveling of familiar routines, it may begin with subtle shifts in the body’s chemistry. 

In his lab in the College of Sciences and Mathematics, Associate Professor Ahmed Hamid and doctoral student Kimberly Kartowikromo are searching for those molecular traces. 

Their work centers on a deceptively simple question: What if a blood sample could help reveal Alzheimer’s disease before symptoms become impossible to ignore? 

“The ultimate goal of the project is to try to make the diagnostic Alzheimer’s disease a routine process,” said Hamid, who serves in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. “The idea is that someone could go in for an annual checkup, give some blood, and we could look for Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers in that blood.” 

Reading the chemistry of disease 

Hamid’s lab uses mass spectrometry to search for molecular differences that might otherwise go unseen. 

“With mass spectrometry, we find the masses of different molecules,” Hamid said. “It’s a very sensitive method, so we can find very small amounts, and it’s very robust, so we can find it accurately every time.” 

The disease is often associated with protein biomarkers, but Hamid’s team is especially interested in lipids, smaller molecules that may carry important clues about disease progression. 

To search for those clues, the researchers use ion mobility mass spectrometry, an instrument Hamid said is the only one of its kind in Alabama and one of only a few in the Southeast. Unlike mass measurements alone, the technology also separates molecules by different characteristics. 

 

 

To help sort through that complexity, Hamid’s lab has turned to machine learning, building models that can search raw data for the molecular features most likely to separate Alzheimer’s disease samples from healthy ones. Building these machine learning models is done in collaboration with Prof. Jingyi Zheng’s research team. 

“To try to manually find which biomarker is the one that makes a difference is like a nightmare,” Hamid said. “It’s a very tedious, ineffective process.” 

Making detection easier to reach 

The science is complex, but the long-term goal is practical: Make testing faster, simpler and easier to access. 

Current Alzheimer’s diagnostic approaches can involve brain imaging or analysis of cerebrospinal fluid, tools that may be expensive, invasive or difficult to obtain. Hamid’s team is exploring methods that could make testing faster and more affordable. 

One approach, called paper spray, is designed to make analysis more direct and rapid. 

“You don’t have to go through all the sample prep, extracting and cleaning it up,” Kartowikromo said. “You cut a small piece of triangular paper, place the sample on it, and the instrument can analyze it directly.” 

The lab is also working on smaller, more portable instruments that could reduce dependence on large, costly commercial systems. 

The work began with support from Auburn’s Research Support Program and has since grown into a project funded by the National Institutes of Health. The path ahead remains difficult. Biomarkers that are easier to detect in cerebrospinal fluid may appear in blood at much lower levels, and human samples require partnerships, consent and careful coordination. 

But that difficulty is measured against the stakes of the disease itself. If Alzheimer’s disease could be detected earlier, patients and families could have more time. Time to seek care, consider treatment options, plan and prepare for what comes next. 

For Hamid, that possibility is enough to keep the lab moving through the frustrations of a long scientific process. 

“If this works, we’ll see how much this can impact the lives of so many people,” he said. 

For Kartowikromo, who came to Auburn from Suriname and is nearing the end of her doctoral program, the technical challenge is tied to a larger purpose. Her work also earned her a 2025 Dean’s Research Award from the College of Sciences and Mathematics. 

“It’s a very interesting study. It’s very important for people to find a cure or treatments sooner,” Kartowikromo said. “If I’m doing the research, I’m doing something for the community.”