An attempt at redefining autism

  • Autism Research
Speaker Ami Klin, Ph.D.
Emory University
Date & Time


Location

Gerald D. Fischbach Auditorium
160 5th Avenue
New York, NY 10010 United States

Autism Research

Autism Research lectures bring together scientists and scholars to discuss diverse and important topics related to autism.

 
On 26 March, Ami Klin presented data from two studies measuring social adaptive behaviors — highly conserved and early-emerging mechanisms of socialization — in infants and toddlers.

His talk was part of the Simons Foundation Autism Research lecture series. You can watch a complete video recording of the event above.
 

About the Lecture

Advances in molecular genetics have implicated a number of genetic variants in autism, yet understanding of how these variants contribute to the disorder is limited. Autism is among the most reliably diagnosed neurodevelopmental disorders, but symptoms used to define autism are likely to be outcomes of disruptions much earlier in development. Klin’s findings might allow researchers to detect underlying characteristics associated with autism before the current average age of diagnosis.

About the Speaker

Headshot of SFARI Investigator Ami Klin.

Ami Klin is Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar Professor and director of the division of autism and developmental disabilities at Emory University School of Medicine. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of London and completed clinical and research work at Yale University’s Child Study Center. Until 2010, he directed the autism program at the Yale Child Study Center, and was Harris Professor of Child Psychology and Psychiatry there.

Klin’s primary research focuses on the social mind and brain and on the developmental aspects of autism from infancy through adulthood. He is the author of more than 180 publications in the field of autism and related conditions and the co-editor of  Asperger Syndrome, Autism Spectrum Disorders in Infants and Toddlers, the third edition of the Handbook of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders and several special issues of professional journals focused on autism.

Past Lectures

Image of Kelsey MartinLeonard Mlodinow headshot

How emotions shape our memories

Kelsey C. Martin, M.D., Ph.D.Executive Vice President, Autism and Neuroscience
Leonard Mlodinow, Ph.D.Physicist and Author

Have you ever contemplated the difference between a feeling, a thought and a memory? And how do all these things fit together in making us who we are?

Leonard Mlodinow is a theoretical physicist and best-selling author. In his latest book, “Emotional: How Feelings Shape Our Thinking,” he unpacks the role emotions play in our thinking and mental well-being.

Kelsey Martin, director of the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI) and the foundation’s neuroscience collaborations, has spent much of her career as a neuroscientist seeking to understand better how experiences change brain connectivity to store long-term memories.

Image of panelists

What do we mean by ‘autism risk genes’?

David Ledbetter, Ph.D.
Chief Clinical Officer, Dascena

Joseph Buxbaum, Ph.D.
Director, Seaver Autism Center
Professor, Psychiatry, Neuroscience, Genetics and Genomic Sciences
Vice Chair for Research and Vice Chair for Mentoring, Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Heather Mefford, M.D., Ph.D.
Full Member, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

David Ledbetter and Joseph Buxbaum discussed whether there are genes for which mutations confer risk specific to autism or whether these genes are really conferring general risk of disrupted brain development. The discussion was moderated by Heather Mefford.

Image of panelists for may 14 2021 event

Small molecules, genes and antisense oligonucleotides: Industry perspectives on treatment development for ASD

Federico Bolognani, M.D., Ph.D.
Vice President, Head of Clinical Science, Axial Therapeutics

Stuart Cobb, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer, Neurogene; Research Fellow, University of Edinburgh

Yael Weiss, M.D., Ph.D.
Vice President, Business Development, Ultragenyx

Randy Carpenter, M.D.
Chief Medical Officer, Rett Syndrome Research Trust; Co-Founder, Allos Pharma

Federico Bolognani, Stuart Cobb, and Yael Weiss joined a panel to discuss new industry developments on the use of small molecules, gene therapy and antisense oligonucleotides as treatment approaches for autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The panel discussion was moderated by Randall Carpenter.

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