Linkage Scientific Leadership - Neural Stem Cell Institute, Albany NY

Scientific Leadership and Translational Focus

Linkage Therapeutics is guided by experienced leaders in neurodegeneration, gene therapy, and translational biotechnology who bring deep scientific insight and disciplined execution to the advancement of our intrabody platform. Our leadership team provides strategic direction, operational oversight, and development expertise to move programs efficiently from discovery toward clinical readiness.

In parallel, Linkage Therapeutics is supported by a distinguished Scientific Advisory Board composed of internationally recognized experts in neurobiology, protein aggregation, gene therapy, and intracellular antibody technologies. The advisory board plays a critical role in shaping scientific strategy, validating translational decisions, and ensuring that our programs remain grounded in the highest standards of biological rigor and clinical relevance.

Together, the leadership team and Scientific Advisory Board guide strategy, partnerships, and innovation, aligning cutting-edge science with development discipline to advance precision intrabody therapeutics for neurodegenerative disease.

Meet our Leadership Team

Sally Temple, Ph.D.

Scientific Director

Sally Temple, PhD is an internationally recognized neuroscientist and a pioneer in the field of neural stem cell biology. She is the Co-Founder and Scientific Director of the Neural Stem Cell Institute (NSCI), In recognition of her scientific leadership and innovation, Dr. Temple was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2008 and has served as President of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR).

David Butler, Ph.D.

Principal Scientist

Dave Butler, PhD leads the day-to-day operations at Linkage Therapeutics and guides the development of the company’s intrabody technology platform. He brings over 15 years of experience in nanobody and intrabody engineering, with deep expertise in translating intracellular antibody technologies into robust, development-ready therapeutics.

Anne Messer, Ph.D.

Principal Scientist

Ann Messer, PhD is a pioneering neurobiologist who served as the scientific advisor for the GAN (Giant Axonal Neuropathy) gene therapy clinical trial. With more than 100 peer-reviewed papers in high-impact journals such as Nature, Nature Genetics, PNAS, and Molecular Therapy, Dr. Messer continues to drive innovation in intracellular antibody engineering and translational neuroscience.

Publications

Linkage Therapeutics’ platform is supported by a strong foundation of peer-reviewed scientific publications and externally validated research demonstrating the feasibility and therapeutic potential of intrabody-mediated protein clearance. This body of work spans multiple neurodegenerative disease models and shows consistent evidence of selective targeting, reduction of toxic protein aggregation, restoration of cellular proteostasis, and neuroprotective effects in both in vitro and in vivo systems. Together, these published findings validate the scientific rationale underlying the platform and provide a robust translational framework for advancing intrabody therapeutics toward clinical development.

Fully Human Bifunctional Intrabodies Achieve Graded Reduction of Intracellular Tau and Rescue Survival of MAPT Mutation iPSC-derived Neurons

Engineered Nanobodies with Programmable Target Antigen Proteolysis (PTAP) Fusions Regulate Intracellular Alpha-synuclein In Vitro and In Vivo

Optimizing intracellular antibodies (intrabodies/nanobodies) to treat neurodegenerative disorder

Computational affinity maturation of camelid single-domain intrabodies against the nonamyloid component of alpha-synuclein

Bifunctional Anti-Non-Amyloid Component α-Synuclein Nanobodies Are Protective In Situ

Structure of a single-chain Fv bound to the 17 N-terminal residues of huntingtin provides insights into pathogenic amyloid formation and suppression

Fusion to a highly charged proteasomal retargeting sequence increases soluble cytoplasmic expression and efficacy of diverse anti-synuclein intrabodies

Bifunctional anti-huntingtin proteasome-directed intrabodies mediate efficient degradation of mutant huntingtin exon 1 protein fragments

Engineered antibody therapies to counteract mutant huntingtin and related toxic intracellular proteins

Developing intrabodies for the therapeutic suppression of neurodegenerative pathology

Tau ^LUM, an in vivo Drosophila sensor of tau multimerization, identifies neuroprotective interventions in tauopathy