Our Team

Marta Benedetti joined the Simons Foundation in 2007 and works with the SFARI team to evaluate and manage the SFARI autism grant portfolio, with particular emphasis on grants in the area of molecular and cellular biology.

Serena Bianchi joined the foundation in 2017 as science writer for SFARI.org. In 2019, she also became science writer for Autism BrainNet, a SFARI initiative that promotes autism research using postmortem brain tissue. As of May 2020, she is the editor of…

Libby Brooks is a psychologist helping SPARK analyze and manage clinical data. She has been involved in autism research since she began working with the Simons Foundation in 2010 as a research assistant on the Simons Simplex Collection. Since then, Brooks has volunteered…

Lindsey Cartner joined the Simons Foundation in 2016 to provide support to Simons Searchlight. Since then she has joined the SPARK team and taken on increasing responsibilities. Cartner helps to organize and coordinate SPARK events and provides internal meeting support to the team.…

Wendy Chung is director of clinical research at SFARI and the principal investigator of SPARK (Simons Foundation Powering Autism Research through Knowledge) and Simons Searchlight. She joined the foundation in 2012, after serving on the SFARI’s Scientific Advisory Board.

Amy Daniels oversees the day-to-day activities of SPARK, from recruitment efforts to online participation to the recontacting of families to participate in new research efforts.

Victoria Deterding joined the Simons Foundation in 2020 as a member of the SFARI team. Prior to joining the Simons Foundation, Victoria worked as the executive assistant to the director at the Health & Human Services Department in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Her previous…