The Autism Science Foundation has awarded $180,000 in grants to six pre-doctoral students who are pursuing careers in basic and clinical scientific research relevant to autism spectrum disorders. The money will be distributed to student/mentor teams conducting research in autism treatment, biomarkers, animal models, and epidemiology.
The grants come after less than ten months of fundraising and operations for the once fledgling ASF. The organization is co-founded by Alison Singer, who very publicly left her post as executive vice president of Autism Speaks one year ago.
“Too much time has been spent looking backwards at the now debunked theory that vaccines caused autism,” said Singer, who is ASF’s president. “We need to regroup; we need to look forward and invest in discovering biomarkers that can lead to earlier diagnosis, in animal models that can illuminate biological pathways, and in treatments that target the most debilitating aspects of autism. This round of grants is aimed in that direction.”
Grant applications were reviewed by members of the Autism Science Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) as well as by outside scientific experts in specific subject areas. Grants were also reviewed by ASF’s Stakeholder Review Committee, comprised of parents, individuals with autism, a special education teacher and other stakeholders.
The following projects were selected for funding (student/mentor):
- Sarita Austin/Dr. Rhea Paul; Yale Child Study Center: Enhancing Understanding and Use of Conversational Rules in School-Aged Speakers with Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Karen Burner/Dr. Sara Jane Webb; University of Washington, Seattle: Observational and Electrophysiological Assessments of Temperament in Infants at Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Rhonda Charles/Dr. Joseph Buxbaum; Mt. Sinai School of Medicine: A Preclinical Model for Determining the Role of AVPR1A in Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Sarah Hannigen/Dr. Mark Strauss; University of Pittsburgh: Defining High and Low Risk Expression of Emotion in Infants at Risk for Autism
- Matthew Maenner/Dr. Maureen Durkin; University of Wisconsin, Madison: Phenotypic Heterogeneity and Early Identification of ASD in the United States.
- Michael Sidorov/Dr. Mark Bear; MIT: Investigation of Postnatal Drug Intervention’s Potential in Rescuing the Symptoms of Fragile X Syndrome in Adult Mice
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