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TK

Thomas K. Karikari, PhD

Director

Fluid Biomarker Innovation

University of Pittsburgh · UPMC ADRC · University of Gothenburg

66
h-index
2025
Clarivate Highly Cited

Appointments & Leadership

  • Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Clinical and Translational Science, University of Pittsburgh
  • Director, Biomarker & Neurogenetics Core, UPMC Alzheimer's Disease Research Center
  • Founding Director, Biofluid Biomarker Laboratory
  • Director, Mass Spectrometry Program
  • Director, Single Molecule Analytics Program
  • Endowed Faculty Fellow in Peripheral Biomarkers for Brain Disorders
  • Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Gothenburg (Sahlgrenska Academy)
  • Member, ISTAART and multiple international biomarker consortia

Selected Publications In

  • Lancet Neurology
  • Nature Medicine
  • JAMA Neurology
  • Acta Neuropathologica
  • Brain

Professional Impact Summary

Thomas K. Karikari, PhD, is an internationally recognized neuroscientist whose work has transformed the development, validation, and clinical implementation of blood-based and CSF biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease and related neurodegenerative disorders. He is a leading figure in proteomics, mass spectrometry, and molecular biomarker discovery, with a particular focus on tau phosphorylation, amyloid processing, and brain-derived tau assays.

At the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC ADRC, Dr. Karikari directs multiple high-impact programs, including the Biomarker & Neurogenetics Core, the Biofluid Biomarker Laboratory, and the Mass Spectrometry Program, where he leads translational research integrating proteomics, genomics, and clinical neurology. Internationally, he holds a faculty appointment at the University of Gothenburg, one of the world's leading centers for Alzheimer's biomarker research.

His laboratory pioneered several landmark innovations, including the first commercially available plasma p-tau181 assay, assays for p-tau212, p-tau217 and p-tau231, and a novel plasma brain-derived tau (BD-tau) marker that selectively detects CNS-origin tau. These biomarkers are now widely used in clinical trials, diagnostic workflows, and prognostic evaluations across global cohorts.

Major clinical & multi-omics contributions

  • Development and validation of plasma p-tau181, p-tau217, p-tau231, and p-tau212 assays for early Alzheimer's detection.
  • Creation of the BD-tau assay, the first blood test specific to CNS-derived tau.
  • Leadership of the Fluid Biomarker Core for an NIA Alzheimer's Program Project Grant.
  • Integration of mass spectrometry, single-molecule analytics, and genomic profiling for biomarker discovery.
  • Extensive validation of biomarkers across prospective clinical cohorts, including preclinical, MCI, and dementia stages.

Key scientific contributions

First commercial plasma p-tau181 assay

Developed the first commercially available plasma p-tau181 assay, establishing blood-based tau measurement in routine research use.

Next-generation p-tau assays

Pioneered p-tau212, p-tau217, and p-tau231 assays now used for early detection and clinical-trial enrichment worldwide.

Brain-derived tau (BD-tau)

Developed a novel brain-derived tau marker specific to CNS-origin tau for neurodegenerative disease.

Ten high-impact publications (representative & influential)

  1. 01

    Blood phosphorylated tau 181 as a biomarker for Alzheimer's disease

    Karikari TK, Pascoal TA, Ashton NJ, et al.

    Lancet Neurology 2020;19:422–433

    Landmark study establishing plasma p-tau181 as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker.

  2. 02

    Plasma p-tau231: a new biomarker for incipient Alzheimer's pathology

    Ashton NJ, Pascoal TA, Karikari TK, et al.

    Acta Neuropathologica 2021;141:709–724

  3. 03

    Differences between plasma and CSF GFAP across the Alzheimer's continuum

    Benedet AL, Milà-Alomà M, Karikari TK, et al.

    JAMA Neurology 2021;78:1471–1483

  4. 04

    Plasma p-tau231 and p-tau217 as state markers of amyloid-β pathology

    Milà-Alomà M, Ashton NJ, Karikari TK, et al.

    Nature Medicine 2022;28:1797–1801

  5. 05

    Microglial activation and tau propagate jointly across Braak stages

    Pascoal TA, Benedet AL, Karikari TK, et al.

    Nature Medicine 2021;27:1592–1599

  6. 06

    Multicenter validation of plasma neurofilament light

    Ashton NJ, Janelidze S, Karikari TK, et al.

    Nature Communications 2021;12:3400

  7. 07

    Differential roles of Aβ42/40, p-tau231, and p-tau217 for trial selection

    Ashton NJ, Janelidze S, Mattsson-Carlgren N, Karikari TK, et al.

    Nature Medicine 2022;28:2555–2562

  8. 08

    Novel tau biomarkers rise in early preclinical Alzheimer's continuum

    Suárez-Calvet M, Karikari TK, Ashton NJ, et al.

    Alzheimer's & Dementia

    Highly cited.

  9. 09

    Plasma p-tau217 as a superior biomarker for Alzheimer's disease

    Karikari TK, Ashton NJ, et al.

    Brain

    Representative of his tau-focused proteomics work.

  10. 10

    Mass spectrometry–based quantification of plasma Aβ peptides

    Karikari TK, et al.

    Demonstrated streamlined immunoprecipitation–MS workflow for amyloid quantification.

Other Founding Members