AUTISM & DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES RESEARCH
$721,897 awarded to research since 1985
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) describes a continuum of conditions affecting a person’s behavior and ability to communicate. Some of these may be severe, inhibiting an individual’s ability to speak or perform simple tasks; other, “high-functioning” forms of autism, may be so minor as to escape notice. Most people living with autism can, with treatment, have rich and fulfilling lives; there is a growing consensus that most forms of ASD are not disabilities at all. The Foundation supports research into developmental conditions like ASD and Down Syndrome not to “cure” them, but to find treatments that help manage the most disabling symptoms.
Active Research
A Pilot Study of Gender Differences in Neuroinflammation in Autism | Dichter | $50,000
A Pilot Study of Gender Differences in Neuroinflammation in Autism 2020 Award: $50,000 Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) impacts the functioning of brain regions that process social information, but the reasons for this are unclear. [...]
Quantifying the Brain Developmental Trajectory of Autism-Associated Brain Overgrowth Using 3D Cellular Resolution Imaging | Wu | $39,069
Quantifying the Brain Developmental Trajectory of Autism-Associated Brain Overgrowth Using 3D Cellular Resolution Imaging 2019 Award: $39,069 Need/Problem: Alterations in brain development are associated with a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders, including autism spectrum disorder [...]
Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms Governing Cortical Surface Area Overgrowth in iPSC-derived Neural Cells from Longitudinally Characterized Autism Individuals | Hazlett | $49,720
Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms Governing Cortical Surface Area Overgrowth in iPSC-derived Neural Cells from Longitudinally Characterized Autism Individuals 2018 Award: $49,720 Many individuals with autism spectrum disorder exhibit larger brain volumes early in life. [...]
Predicting Early Brain Development via Deep Learning of DNA | Xia | $39,742
Predicting Early Brain Development via Deep Learning of DNA 2018 Award: $39,742 The state-of-art data science with the most advanced machine learning algorithm such as deep learning provides us new opportunity to uncover the [...]
Prospective Identification of Individuals with a Brain Overgrowth Form of Autism | Piven, Zylka, Stein | $40,000
Prospective Identification of Individuals with a Brain Overgrowth Form of Autism 2017 Award: $40,000 This grant will take a first step towards developing a polygenic risk score for brain overgrowth in a large sample [...]
Excitation-inhibition Imbalance in Autistic Auditory Cortex and its Effects on Spectro-temporal Sound Integration | Kato | $100,000
Excitation-inhibition imbalance in autistic auditory cortex and its effects on spectro-temporal sound integration 2017 Award: $100,000 Recent studies on autistic patients have accumulated rich knowledge on these diseases at both genetic and behavioral levels. [...]