# Russ Lebovitz

> Russ Lebovitz is the co-founder and CEO of Amprion, a precision brain diagnostics company that built the first commercial seed amplification assay for detecting misfolded alpha-synuclein - the protein at the root of Parkinson's disease and other synucleinopathies. An MD/PhD trained at Washington University in St. Louis and a former research physician at Baylor and Fox Chase Cancer Center, Lebovitz spent years chasing prions after the mad cow scare, then pivoted the same detection science toward common neurodegenerative diseases. His SYNTap test won an FDA Breakthrough Device Designation and is now used in clinical trials and patient care to spot brain disease years before symptoms appear.

- **Role:** Co-Founder and CEO at Amprion
- **Organizations:** Amprion, Skincential Sciences, BootstrapLabs, Suma Ventures, Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF)
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** MD and PhD, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis
- **Known for:** Co-founded Amprion and led it from research through commercial product launch, Brought the first commercial alpha-synuclein seed amplification assay (SYNTap / SAAmplify-aSYN) to market, Secured an FDA Breakthrough Device Designation in 2019

## Career timeline

- **1980s-1990s** — Senior scientist and research physician for more than 15 years; faculty at Baylor College of Medicine (Texas Medical Center, Houston) and Fox Chase Cancer Center (Philadelphia)
- **2007** — Begins collaboration with neuroscientist Dr. Claudio Soto to refine seed amplification assay technology, initially targeting prions linked to Creutzfeldt-Jakob (mad cow) disease
- **2014** — Co-founds Amprion with Dr. Claudio Soto
- **2018** — Amprion establishes its clinical laboratory
- **2019** — FDA grants Amprion a Breakthrough Device Designation for the SYNTap test in aiding Parkinson's diagnosis
- **2021** — SYNTap Biomarker Test becomes commercially available
- **2022** — Amprion's CAP-accredited, CLIA-certified lab becomes operational
- **2024** — Amprion holds initial $6M close of a $15M Series B financing; wins BioTech Breakthrough Award for Clinical Diagnostics Solution of the Year

## Achievements

- Co-founded Amprion and led it from research through commercial product launch
- Brought the first commercial alpha-synuclein seed amplification assay (SYNTap / SAAmplify-aSYN) to market
- Secured an FDA Breakthrough Device Designation in 2019
- Won the 2024 BioTech Breakthrough Award, Clinical Diagnostics Solution of the Year
- Principal investigator working with the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation on brain health
- Reduced assay turnaround from roughly two weeks to about 20 hours over the first decade of development

## Latest updates

- **2024-10** — Amprion announced the initial $6M close of a $15M Series B financing to expand commercial reach and R&D.
- **2024-11** — Amprion won the 2024 BioTech Breakthrough Award for Clinical Diagnostics Solution of the Year.
- **2025-11** — Featured in The Pathologist on the race to detect neurodegenerative disease early.

## Links

- Website: https://ampriondx.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/russ-lebovitz-a68010162/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/AmprionME

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/russ-lebovitz
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-29