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.

SFARI held its thirteenth science meeting April 8–12, 2018. SFARI investigators, collaborators and foundation staff came together to discuss recent findings in autism genetics, molecular and system-level mechanisms, and clinical studies. In addition to keynote and session presentations, two panels convened investigators to discuss the current state of autism genetics research and the biology of SCN2A, a high-confidence autism risk gene.

On April 10, 2018, SFARI held a workshop to discuss online platforms for visualizing and analyzing SFARI genomics data. These platforms included the Genotypes and Phenotypes in Families web interface, created by SFARI Investigator Ivan Iossifov’s team, and Hub.iobio, which is currently being developed by Frameshift.

SFARI held its seventh science meeting from April 12-14, gathering together more than 100 SFARI-supported autism researchers.

SFARI hosted a Circuit Dynamics Workshop to explore the role of neural circuits in autism.

SFARI held its sixth annual meeting, bringing together some 150 SFARI-supported autism researchers in an effort to advance the understanding of autism, improve its diagnosis and better the experience of those on the autism spectrum.

On 12 and 13 June, the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI) held its second workshop on 16p11.2 deletion and duplication. A total of 62 participants from across the U.S. and Europe attended the meeting.

For individuals with autism, a trip to the clinic — an unfamiliar place with strange people and instruments — can be exceedingly stressful. And as many genetic databases for autism include tens of thousands of participants, it is increasingly challenging for researchers to do in-person assessments for each individual. On 14 February, SFARI hosted a workshop to explore the benefits and pitfalls of using online tools to help collect data from individuals with autism.

Glia were once thought to play a secondary role to neurons in the brain. But studies in the past few years have shown that they may be involved in many brain disorders, including autism. On 7 December, SFARI and the Rett Syndrome Research Trust organized a meeting of scientists working on the intersection of glia with autism and Rett syndrome.

Converging lines of evidence suggest that the earliest events in brain development play a role in autism. On 12 September, the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative brought together a group of scientists to discuss the latest findings on early brain development’s relevance to autism, based on studies ranging from structural imaging in children to analysis of postmortem brains and mouse models.