This issue of the SFARI newsletter includes: (1) endy Chung appointed as chief of the Department of Pediatrics at Boston Children's Hospital, (2) SFARI workshop on sensory differences in autism, (3) 2022 Genomics of ASD awardees announced, (4) SFARI at INSAR 2023, (5) Highlights of SFARI-funded research, (6) 2023 Human Cognitive and Behavioral Science — Request for applications, (6) Simon Foundation Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Neuroscience (SURFiN), (7) 2023 Cross-Species Studies of ASD — Request for applications.

On February 10, 2023, SFARI hosted an in-person meeting focused on measuring sensory system function in humans with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD).

In a mouse model of fragile X syndrome, Emily Osterweil and her colleagues show that excessive protein synthesis drives a pathological compensatory rise in protein degradation (by the ubiquitin proteasome system), which can be targeted to correct various phenotypes including audiogenic seizures.

SFARI is pleased to announce that it intends to fund 15 grants in response to the 2022 Genomics of ASD: Pathways to Genetic Therapies request for applications.

The Simons Foundation is now accepting applications from undergraduate students to participate in the Shenoy Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Neuroscience, or SURFiN, for the 2023–2024 academic year. The program’s goal is to spark and sustain interest in neuroscience among undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds underrepresented in neuroscience research. SURFiN is a joint initiative from the Simons Collaboration on the Global Brain (SCGB), the Simons Collaboration on Plasticity and the Aging Brain (SCPAB) and the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI).

A study by Caroline Robertson and her colleagues found that reduced social attention was not a static omnipresent characteristic of autism; rather, it was magnified only under certain real-world conditions where sensory processing demands were high.

This issue of the SFARI newsletter includes: (1) SFARI Research Math, (2) Simons Foundation seeks proposals for new neuroscience collaborations, (3) Simons Searchlight gathers families and researchers for conference on CSNK2A1– and SETBP1–related conditions, (4) New Spectrum book showcases the scientists studying the biology of autism, (5) Event: Informational session: Cross-Species Studies of ASD request for applications (RFA), (6) Highlights of SFARI-funded research, (7) Bridge to Independence Award — Request for applications.

Elise Robinson and colleagues identified a large genomic region — chromosome 16p — where a rare 16p11.2 variant associated with autism functionally converges with common polygenic variation across 16p. Both rare and common genetic variation at 16p decreased expression of neuronally expressed genes, with relevance for increasing autism risk.

New Simons Searchlight data were recently added to SFARI Base. The data released included phenotypic data from individuals with 16p11.2 copy number variant (CNVs), 1q21.1 CNVs, 7q11.23 duplication and variants in 32 single genes associated with autism and related neurodevelopmental conditions.