On April 17, 2018, molecular neuroscientists and geneticists gathered at the Simons Foundation for a workshop on the role of chromatin-associated proteins in autism spectrum disorder. The workshop discussed the biology and function of these proteins in brain development, while considering translational opportunities and evaluating ways that SFARI could potentially help move research in this area forward.

SFARI is pleased to announce that it expects to have funded 22 grants in response to the Explorer Awards request for applications (RFA) this year.

On May 15, 2018, SFARI convened a workshop to revisit the excitation/inhibition (E/I) hypothesis of autism, a synaptic-based account of the disorder that has been highly influential in the last fifteen years of autism research. The workshop critically evaluated the E/I hypothesis in light of the current knowledge of autism pathophysiology and called for a more precise definition of the hypothesis that can help enable translational opportunities from animal- to human-based research.

This issue of the SFARI newsletter includes: (1) Presentations by SFARI Investigators at Neuroscience 2018, (2) Simons VIP: New data release, (3) AIMS-2-Trials has launched, (4) A Conversation with Paul Wang, Deputy Director of Clinical Research Associates, (5) 2019 SPARK Clinical Site Network – Request for Applications, (6) SFARI Social at Neuroscience 2018, (7) Past lecture: Richard Lifton, “From genes and genomes to biology and health”.

The Innovative Medicines Initiative, a European public-private initiative, recently awarded a €115 million five-year grant for autism research. The Autism Innovative Medicine Studies-2-Trials (AIMS-2-Trials) brings together 48 partners from academia, industry and nonprofit foundations, including SFARI.

Paul Wang, Deputy Director of Clinical Research Associates, L.L.C. (CRA), discusses the research that CRA supports, including human and animal studies using arbaclofen, a potential drug treatment for autism.

New Simons VIP Phase 2 data were recently added to SFARI Base. This data release included data from individuals with 16p11.2 copy number variants, 1q21.1 CNVs and mutations in the following single genes: ADNP, ASXL3, CHAMP1, CHD8, CSNK2A1, DYRK1A, GRIN2B, HIVEP2, HNRNPH2, MED13L, PACS1, PPP2R5D, SCN2A, SETBP1, STXBP1 and SYNGAP1.

SFARI Investigators will be giving a number of presentations at Neuroscience 2018 in San Diego, CA (November 3–7).

This issue of the SFARI newsletter includes: (1) SFARI 2018 Pilot and Research awardees announced, (2) SFARI Gene: New data release, (3) SFARI spring 2018 science meeting discussed latest developments in autism research, (4) SFARI workshop discusses zebrafish as experimental systems to study autism, (5) Winter 2019 Pilot Awards - Request for applications, (6) Upcoming lecture: Evdokia Anagnostou, “Thinking differently about neurodevelopment disorders and autism: Lumping vs. splitting”.

On January 26, 2018, SFARI held a workshop to discuss the use of zebrafish in autism research. Experts in both rodent and fish models discussed key issues in the field, including zebrafish mutant construct validity, the visualization of circuit development and function, and high-throughput phenotyping and pharmacological screens for translational opportunities.