Collaborative Projects & Programs
NAAR Autism Genome Project
In 2005, NAAR committed $1.3 million towards the NAAR Autism Genome Project, an NIH partnership that is the largest research collaboration ever to focus on the genetics of the disorder. The NAAR Autism Genome Project will map the human genome in the search for autism susceptibility genes - the genes responsible for the inherited risk for autism. A public/private research partnership, this collaboration includes approximately 170 of the world's leading genetic researchers from 50 academic and research institutions that have pooled their DNA samples in a collaborative effort.
High Risk Baby Siblings Research Project
Together with NICHD, NAAR continues it's support of the High Risk Baby Siblings Research Project, launched last year. Researchers participating in this collaboration are working to distinguish children that have different developmental trajectories so clinicians can apply the most appropriate standards to an early diagnostic evaluation and, eventually, to developing specific interventions. This year, the consortium was expanded to include new members who bring unique expertise such as child language development that they will share with other members of the collaboration.
Autism Tissue Program
NAAR has committed $520,000 in 2005 towards the ongoing expansion of the Autism Tissue Program, a parent-led brain tissue donation program dedicated to autism research and jointly supported by the NIH. The program makes post-mortem brain tissue available to as many qualified scientists as possible who are focused on autism research. NAAR established and first funded the Autism Tissue Program in 1998 and has provided valuable research tissue to over 30 researchers throughout the US and Europe.
2005 Research and Fellowship Awards
Pilot Studies
Matthew Anderson, M.D., Ph.D.
Beth Israel Medical Center / Harvard Medical School
Modeling Human Neuroligin-3 Autism in Mice
Two-Year Award: $120,000
Michal Assaf, M.D.
Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center / IOL / Yale School of Medicine
Neuronal Correlates of Implicit Social Interaction in Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Functional MRI Study
Two-Year Award: $118,968
David Beversdorf, M.D.
The Ohio State University Research Foundation
Pharmacological Modulation of Functional Connectivity in Autism Spectrum Disorder
Two-Year Award: $113,740
John Constantino, M.D.
Washington University School of Medicine
Replication of Quantitative Linkage Findings in a New Sample of Genotyped (but Not Yet Phenotyped) Autism Pedigrees
One-Year Award: $60,000
Joshua Corbin, Ph.D.
Georgetown University
Genetic and cellular basis of amygdala development
Two-Year Award: $120,000
Richard Courtemanche, Ph.D.
Concordia University
Dynamic network activity in the cerebellum for expectancy: normal and abnormal networks based on neurochemistry
Two-Year Award: $100,342
Kim Dalton, Ph.D.
University of Wisconsin
Multisensory integration of visual and vocal emotional cues in autism: A brain fMRI study
Two-Year Award: $120,000
Guido Gerig, Ph.D.
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Quantitative white matter analysis of early brain development in Autism
Two-Year Award: $119,780
Research Partner: The Blowitz-Ridgeway Foundation
Roy Grinker, Ph.D.
The George Washington University
The Prevalence of Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Korean School-Aged Children
Two-Year Award: $120,000
Jana Iverson, Ph.D.
University of Pittsburgh
Early identification of autism: Developmental trajectories in communicative and motor skills in siblings of children with autism
Two-Year Award: $119,940
Andrea Jackowski, Ph.D.
Yale University - Child Study Center
Brain morphometry in newborns at risk for autism: an MRI study
Two-Year Award: $118,360
Daniel Levitin, Ph.D.
McGill University, Canada
Quantifying the extent of emotional processing in autism: Converging evidence from music processing and central coherence theory
Two-Year Award: $120,000
Ludise Malkova, Ph.D.
Georgetown University
Socioemotional dysfunction and midbrain-amygdala circuitry
Two-Year Award: $119,900
Beth Malow, M.D., M.S.
Vanderbilt University
Defining the Physiological and Behavioral Components of Insomnia in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Two-Year Award: $116,440
Peter McCaffery, Ph.D.
UMMS/E. K. Shriver Center
Disruption of Organization of the Cerebral Cortex by Retinoic Acid
Two-Year Award: $119,207
James Millonig, Ph.D.
University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ
Genetic and functional analysis of ENGRAILED 2, a cerebellar patterning gene
Two-Year Award: $120,000
Sacha Nelson, M.D., Ph.D.
Brandeis University
Cortical circuit abnormalities in mouse models of Rett Syndrome
Two-Year Award: $120,000
Craig Newschaffer, Ph.D.
Johns Hopkins School of Public Health
Autism, Autoimmunity and the Environment
Two-Year Award: $113,822
Craig Newschaffer, Ph.D.
Johns Hopkins School of Public Health
Autism risk and exposures/biomarkers measured during the pre-, peri-, and neonatal periods: a baby sibs pilot investigation
Two-Year Award: $119,953
Antonio Persico, M.D.
Univ. Campus Bio-Medico, Lab of Mol Psychiatry & Neurogenetics
Addressing the Pathophysiology of Endophenotypes in Autism: Megalencephaly, Hyperserotoninemia, and Pepitiduria
One-Year Award: $60,000
Samuel Pleasure, M.D., Ph.D.
University of California San Francisco
Chemotactic Regulation of Cajal-Retzius Cell Migration
Two-Year Award: $119,592
Douglas Portman, Ph.D.
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
Genetic control of sexual dimorphism in the nervous system: a nematode model for genetic mechanisms in autism
Two-Year Award: $110,649
Vijaya Ramesh, Ph.D.
Massachusetts General Hospital
Pam as a Candidate Gene for Autism
Two-Year Award: $120,000
2005 Roland D. Ciaranello, M.D. Memorial Award in Basic Research
James Rand, Ph.D.
Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation
Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Neuroligin-Mediated Synaptogenesis
Two-Year Award: $120,000
Payam Rezaie, Ph.D.
Open University, United Kingdom
Examining alterations in cortical neuronal subpopulations and synaptic proteins in autism
Two-Year Award: $119,900.00
Timothy Roberts, Ph.D.
Children's Hospital/University of Toronto
Electrophysiological Signatures: An Intermediate Phenotype for Autism
Two-Year Award: $149,473.00
Named in honor of NAAR's 2005 Scientific Service Award recipient,
Dr. Emanuel DiCicco-Bloom
Diana Robins, Ph.D.
Georgia State University
Perception of Emotional Cues from Facial Expression and Affective Prosody using fMRI
Two-Year Award: $119,779
Gary Rudnick, Ph.D.
Yale University School of Medicine
Mutation associated with Asperger's Syndrome - Effect on Amine Transporter Regulation
Two-Year Award: $120,000
Mirjana Savatic, M.D., Ph.D
Stony Brook University
Nitric oxide and synaptic plasticity: implications for autism
Two-Year Award: $118,800
Christoph Schmitz, M.D.
Maastricht University, Netherlands
Cytoarchitectural alterations in the cerebral cortex in autism
Two-Year Award: $120,000
Research Partner: Autism Coalition for Research and Education
Harvey Singer, M.D.
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Autoimmune Abnormalities in Autism: A Family Study
Two-Year Award: $120,000
Latha Soorya, Ph.D.
Mt. Sinai School of Medicine
Mediators of Motor Skills in Adolescents & Adults with ASD
Two-Year Award: $83,104
Flora Vaccarino, Ph.D.
Yale University
Molecular mechanisms of cerebral cortical overgrowth
Two-Year Award: $119,276
Linda Van Aelst, Ph.D.
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Role of the X-Linked Mental Retardation Protein Oligophrenin-1 in Neuronal Development and Function
Two-Year Award: $120,000
Robert Vogt, Ph.D.
Newborn Screening Branch, Centers for Disease Control
Immune Biomarkers in Serum and Newborn Dried Blood Spots
Two-Year Award: $118,800
George Wagner, Ph.D.
Rutgers University
Animal Model of autism Using Engrailed2 Knockout Mice
Two-Year Award: $98,880
Sara Webb, Ph.D.
University of Washington
Linking Cerebellar Pathology to Functioning in Individuals with Autism: Implications for Translational Research
Two-Year Award: $119,637
John Welsh, Ph.D.
Oregon Health & Science University
Electrophysiological Signatures: An Intermediate Phenotype for Autism
Two-Year Award: $150,000
Named in honor of NAAR's 2005 Scientific Service Award recipient,
Dr. Emanuel DiCicco-Bloom
Patricia Whitaker-Azmitia, Ph.D.
SUNY at Stony Brook
Serotonin, Oxytocin and Social Behaviors
Two-Year Award: $120,000
Donald Wilson, Ph.D.
University of Oklahoma
Functional Consequences of Sensory Gating Deficits
Two-Year Award: $117,135
Nurit Yirmiya, Ph.D.
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The development of siblings of children with autism at age 7 years
Two-Year Award: $107,800
Pre-Doctoral Fellowships
Mentor: Claudia Bagni, Ph.D.
Fellow: Caroline Lacoux
University of Rome "Tor Vergata" Fondazione Santa Lucia, IRCCS, Rome
Molecular Studies of the ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder)
Mentor: Alice Carter, Ph.D.
Fellow: Chantal (Jennifer) Kuhn
University of Massachusetts, Boston
Parental Autism-related Cognitions and Maternal Synchrony
Mentor: Geraldine Dawson, Ph.D.
Fellow: Raphael Bernier
University of Washington
Role of mirror neurons in the imitation deficits in autism
Mentor: Darragh Devine, Ph.D.
Fellow: Amber Muehlmann
University of Florida
Self-Injurious Behavior: Pharmacotherapy in an Animal Model
Mentor: Margaret Fahnestock, Ph.D.
Fellow: Lisa Lagrou
McMaster University
Mechanism of Neurotransmitter Dysregulation in Autism
Mentor: Janine LaSalle, Ph.D.
Fellow: Sailaja Peddada
University of California, Davis School of Medicine
Investigation of Novel MeCP2 Target Genes Regulating Neuronal Maturation in Autism-Spectrum Disorders
Mentor: Joseph Piven, M.D.
Fellow: Matt Mosconi
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Social Perception in Young Children with Autism
Mentor: Peter Scheiffele, Ph.D.
Fellow: Ben Cheh
Columbia University
Consequences of neuroligin mutations on synapse formation and behavior
Mentor: Mark Strauss, Ph.D.
Fellow: Keiran Rump
University of Pittsburgh
The Recognition of Emotional Expression by Children and Adults with Autism
Mentor: Helen Tager-Flusberg, Ph.D.
Fellow: Kristen Lindgren
Boston University
Behavioral and Brain Imaging Studies of Verbal/Non-Verbal Integration in Autism
Mentor: Chandan Vaidya, Ph.D
Fellow: Kelley Anne Barnes
Georgetown University.
fMRI of implicit learning in childhood Autism
Mentor: George Wagner, Ph.D.
Fellow: Michele Cheh
Rutgers University
Animal Model of Autism Using Engrailed2 Knockout Mice
Post-Doctoral Fellowships
Mentor: Jane Adams, Ph.D.
Fellow: Jennifer Gaven, Ph.D.
University of Massachusetts, Boston
Early Markers of Autism and Social-Cognitive Processing in Infants Exposed to Valproic Acid during Prenatal Development
Mentor: Dorothy Bishop, D.Phil.
Fellow: Andrew Whitehouse Ph.D.
University of Oxford
Electrophysiological and behavioral studies of phonological short-term memory: a comparison with SLI
Mentor: Pat Mirenda, Ph.D.
Fellow: Karen Bopp, Ph.D.
University of British Columbia
Relationships Between Prelinguistic Communicative Behaviors and Early Intervention Outcomes in Youn Children with Autism
Mentor: Samuel Pleasure, M.D., Ph.D.
Fellow: Jennifer Lynn Freese, Ph.D.
University of California, San Francisco
The Role of Frizzled9 in Hippocampal and Cortical Development
Mentor: John Rubenstein, M.D., Ph.D.
Fellow: Ugo Borello, Ph.D.
University of California, San Francisco
Role of the Fgf and Wnt genes in the development of the cerebral cortex
Mentor: Helen Tager-Flusberg, Ph.D.
Fellow: Ruth Grossman, Ph.D.
Boston University
Functional Connectivity of Language Areas in Autism and Specific Language Impairment
Mentor: Rita Valentino, Ph.D.
Fellow: Steven Leiser, Ph.D.
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Sensory Response Dysregulation
Mentor: Christopher Walsh, M.D., Ph.D.
Fellow: Seung-Yun Yoo, Ph.D.
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, HHMI
Identification of gene(s) involved in autosomal recessive autism
Mentor: Stephanie White, Ph.D.
Fellow: Julie Miller, Ph.D.
University of California, Los Angeles
Molecular targets for socially-learned vocalization
