2. Research

3/20/2023

Autistic, Not Sorry

Isabelle Morris (left) is a MN LEND fellow and autism researcher who describes herself as "unapologetically autistic." She's among a growing group of autistic researchers using their lived experience to shape the future of autism research.

3/17/2023

Release of the Annual Disability Statistics Collection

On February 7, 2023, StatsRRTC at the Institute on Disability released key findings from the Annual Disability Statistics Collection. The annual report addresses critical gaps in national and state data related to people with disabilities by synthesizing complex data from numerous U.S. federal agencies into accessible formats.

3/16/2023

Will SARS-CoV-2 During Pregnancy Impact Child's Neurodevelopment?

Scientists led by the Lieber Institute for Brain Development are studying how a mother's SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy affects the biology of the placenta and the corresponding trajectory of the child's brain development, including the risk for neurodevelopmental disorders such as schizophrenia and autism.

3/13/2023

Dr. McNally Keehn Selected to be Health Equity Research Scholar

Dr. Rebecca McNally Keehn, Research Director at the Indiana LEND, has been selected to participate in the Health Equity Research Scholars (HERS) Program, a 9-month faculty-development program for faculty at Indiana University School of Medicine.

3/10/2023

CAR Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Elizabeth Kaplan- Kahn Featured on Autism Science Foundation Podcast

The Center for Autism Research (CAR) Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Elizabeth Kaplan- Kahn was featured on #ASFpodcast! The CAR team is working to improve a measure of Quality of Life for autistic individuals who are minimally verbal or have cognitive disabilities. These individuals may have different outcomes as other autistics, but their responses are just as important.

3/9/2023

Future TBI Treatments May Hinge on Understanding a New Cell Type

In a new paper published in GLIA, investigators from Children's National Hospital reviewed 25 years of neuroscience research to lay out what's known about the molecular response of these NG2-glia cells after TBI. Researchers said they see "a seductive possibility" that tapping into the regenerative potential of NG2-glia cells after neurotrauma could lead to therapies in the future.

3/6/2023

Autism Across the Life Span Annual Conference

Autism Across the Life Span brings together researchers, students, educators, people with autism and their families to Overland Park, Kan., on March 24. Presented by the Kansas Center for Autism Research & Training at the University of Kansas Life Span Institute, the conference will feature presentations from nationally recognized scientists, as well as discussions on inclusion in research, neurodiversity, transitions in life and more.

2/22/2023

Alzheimer's Progression in Down Syndrome Appears Similar to Other Genetic, Early Onset Forms of the Disease

NIH-funded study suggests people with Down syndrome may benefit from Alzheimer's disease treatments. The study was conducted by Beau Ances, M.D., Ph.D., of Washington University in St. Louis, and colleagues from the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network (DIAN) and the Alzheimer's Biomarkers Consortium-Down Syndrome (ABC-DS).

2/21/2023

Virtual Reality May Help Smooth Out Disconnects Between Vision and Hearing

Sensory inputs that neurotypical people perceive as simultaneous are sometimes perceived as separate in autistic individuals, such as the sight and sound of a bouncing ball. Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (IDDRC, UCEDD, LEND) researchers are now closely examining the ways autistic brains perform when it comes to processing and merging visual, auditory, and tactile information. The step may lay the foundation for interventions to improve sensory integration.

2/15/2023

Clinician, Researcher Lead New Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center in Iowa

Ted Abel, PhD, and Lane Strathearn, MBBS, PhD, are leading one of only 15 federally funded intellectual and developmental disabilities research centers in the country. The new Hawk-IDDRC [Hawkeye Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center] integrates the efforts of researchers in the Iowa Neuroscience Institute (INI) and clinicians in the Center for Disabilities and Development (CDD), part of University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital, to connect basic and clinical research across the lifespan.

2/6/2023

Rates of Autism Increase, but Numbers Don't Paint the Full Picture

Headlines over the past 20 years have signaled ever-increasing recognition of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Now, in a new article published in Autism, IDDRC network researchers describe their own estimates of how many children across Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's (CHOP) Primary Care Network have been diagnosed with ASD. What they found highlights the importance of tracking and unpacking the numbers of diagnoses to identify areas for continued improvement.

1/30/2023

Federal surveys fail to count 20 to 43% of individuals who are disabled

A recent study at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital used SPARK data to identify a new class of moderate-effect genes that are associated with less likelihood of intellectual disability and may reveal more about autism and brain development.

1/27/2023

Biomarkers Can Help Improve Clinical Trials for Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Sara Jane Webb, University of Washington IDDRC

In the past decade, many large-scale randomized controlled pharmaceutical clinical trials for children with neurodevelopmental disorders have struggled to demonstrate child clinical changes. In a recent study, researchers from University of Washington IDDRC discuss how biomarkers can help improve clinical trials for children with neurodevelopmental disorders.

1/20/2023

SPARK Uncovers Moderate-effect Genes that Cause Autism

A recent study at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital-one of AUCD's Intellectual and Developmental Disability Research Centers or IDDRCs-used SPARK data to identify a new class of moderate-effect genes that are associated with less likelihood of intellectual disability and may reveal more about autism and brain development.

1/12/2023

JFK Partners Approved for $2,780,297 Million for a Study Comparing Approaches of Two School-Based Interventions to Manage Anxiety in Autistic Students

Funds awarded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute

A research team at University of Colorado School of Medicine, JFK Partners, led by Judy Reaven, Ph.D. has been approved for a $2,780,297 million funding award by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to study A Comparison of Two School-Based Interventions to Manage Anxiety in Autistic Students.