Autism Speaks awards first Dennis Weatherstone pre-doctoral fellowships

Made possible by a generous grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Autism Speaks is pleased to announce its first round of Dennis Weatherstone Pre-Doctoral Fellowships awarding eight Fellows a combined $448,000 in research grants over the next two years. Established in 2008 in memory of Sir Dennis Weatherstone, the former Chairman and CEO of J.P. Morgan, the intent of the fellowship program is to encourage the most promising young scientists to establish autism research as their chosen career path. The fellowship awards will provide highly qualified candidates with exceptional research training opportunities in all areas related to the study of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Specifically, Dennis Weatherstone Fellows will work directly with mentors who are leading scientists in the field of autism research to support the growth of a promising cadre of young autism scientists.

Eight applicants were chosen to be among the first class of Dennis Weatherstone Fellows, selected from the 55 proposals received from highly qualified candidates in response to this year's request for applications. The thorough and competitive review process confers distinction on those awarded a fellowship grant. Research topics for this year's award recipients focus on various aspects of autism science ranging from neurobiology, genetics, and immunology to behavior, communication, and computer-based language tools.

"We are extremely pleased to launch this new fellowships program made possible through a generous gift to Autism Speaks," says Geraldine Dawson, chief science officer for Autism Speaks. "We were especially impressed with the quality and diversity of the fellows whose research spans genetics, neuroscience, and clinical research. Jumpstarting the careers of these young scientists, not only with research funds but with mentor relationships with leading scientists, is one of the best investments we can make."

In a computer science project entitled "Visualizing Voice," Joshua Hailpern, under mentor Karrie Karahalios, Ph.D. of the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, aims to develop a computer-based program for children with ASD that will "paint" an individual's voice onto the screen, showing volume and pitch changes in real time in order to teach language skills such as multi-syllabic word production.

Jennifer Foss-Feig, with mentor Wendy Stone, Ph.D. at Vanderbilt University, will investigate the underlying neural mechanisms involved in the processing of complex sensory information using noninvasive measures of brain electrical activity.

Meaghan Parladé, with mentor Jana Iverson, Ph.D. at the University of Pittsburgh, will investigate early risk indicators for autism such as gestures, eye contact, facial expressions, and communicative vocalizations in very young siblings of affected children.

At the University of Colorado Denver with mentor of Donald Rojas, Ph.D., Lisa Wilson will use advanced imaging techniques including magnetoencephalography and magnetic resonance imaging to examine how language is processed in parents of children with autism and in adults with autism.

At the University of Illinois at Chicago with mentor John Sweeney, Ph.D., Anna-Maria D'Cruz will study abnormalities in brain function that may contribute to Insistence on Sameness, a core feature of autism characterized by routine, stereotyped and repetitive behaviors.

With mentor Paul Patterson, Ph.D. at the California Institute of Technology, Elaine Hsiao, will use a mouse model of maternal viral infection to investigate the role of Interleukine-6 in the development of autism-related behaviors in the offspring.

Bradford Elmer, with mentor A. Kimberly McAllister, Ph.D. from the University of California at Davis, will study the role of immune molecules but in the formation of brain connections (or synaptogenesis) and possible alterations that might result in neurodevelopmental disorders.

Examining the genetic causes of autism, M. Ali Bangash with mentor Paul Worley, M.D. at Johns Hopkins University, will refine a mouse model to study the gene SHANK3 and investigate its implications for autism using biochemical and behavioral tests. Mutations of this gene have recently been implicated in a subset of individuals with autism.

Find the list of Weatherstone Fellowship awards and read full project abstracts at http://www.autismspeaks.org/science/research/grants/research_we_have_funded_weatherstone_2009.php.

In order to facilitate a network of collaboration, the Weatherstone Fellowship program will include group interaction among fellows and opportunities to meet with the Weatherstone family and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. The first annual luncheon will take place in late October in New York City to honor this inaugural class of Fellows and the memory of Sir Dennis Weatherstone. Our hope is that the bond created by the program will carry on and that Weatherstone Fellows will develop a network by sharing their knowledge and experiences with each other, and perhaps one day mentor a new Weatherstone Fellow.

Source: Autism Speaks