“Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research” workshop, presented at the
Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous System Disorders, Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Institute of Medicine
Format Workshop
This workshop discussed scientific opportunities for improving the understanding of potential environmental factors in autism, scientific tools and technologies, needed interdisciplinary research approaches, and further investments necessary now and in the future to be able to explore potential relationships between autism and environmental factors. Potential partnerships needed to support and conduct autism research were also discussed.
Contact URL http://www.iom.edu/?id=42481
Contact Agency
Institute of Medicine
500 Fifth Street NW
Washington DC 20001
(202) 334-2352
“Autism Speaks: Science Overview”
Autism Speaks
Format Research Program
Autism Speaks is dedicated to facilitating global research on the causes, treatments and an eventual cure for autism by: promoting cross-disciplinary cooperation; funding research; organizing research summit meetings; and establishing standards for data collection and management to benefit the scientific community. Research on autism funded by Autism Speaks is based on finding the answers to four basic questions: What causes it? (Etiology); What is it? (Biology); How do you know if someone has it? (Diagnosis); and How do we make it better? (Treatment).
Contact URL http://www.autismspeaks.org/science/index.php
Contact Agency
Autism Speaks Offices
New York
2 Park Avenue
11th Floor
New York, NY 10016
(212) 252-8584
Princeton
1060 State Road, 2nd Floor
Princeton, NJ 08540
(609) 228-7310
Los Angeles
5455 Wilshire Boulevard
Suite 2250
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 549-0500
Environmental Health Project
Autism Society of America, Sponsored by the John Merck Fund
Format Project
Research indicates that other factors besides genetics contribute to the rise in increasing occurrences of autism, such as environmental toxins (for example, heavy metals such as mercury), which are more prevalent in our current environment than in the past. Some research findings indicate that many children with autism or those who are at risk of developing autism have a metabolic impairment that reduces their ability to rid their bodies of heavy metals and other toxins; accumulation of these toxins in the body can lead to damage to the brain and nervous system, as well as developmental delays. ASA’s Environmental Health Project strives to: increase understanding of possible environmental contributors to autism and other health issues, and continue to build a grassroots community to further research on and awareness of the effect of environmental influences on autism.
Contact URL http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer?pagename=research_envirohealth
Contact Agency
Autism Society of America
7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 300
Bethesda, MD 20814-3067
(301) 657-0881 or 1-800-3AUTISM
Marino Autism Research Institute Scientific Symposium on Environment and Autism Etiology held at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee on April 22, 2008
Vanderbilt University
Format Symposium
This symposium was held to provide researchers with a forum in which to discuss the role of the environment in increasing autism risk, as well as its impact on the diversity of behavioral and medical symptoms.
Contact URL http://kc.vanderbilt.edu/kennedy/marisymposium/
Contact Agency
Mailing Address:
Vanderbilt University
Peabody Box 40
230 Appleton Place
Nashville, TN 37203
Shipping Address:
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt Kennedy Center
405 MRL Building
21st and Magnolia Circle
Nashville, TN 37203
(615) 322-8240
University of California Davis Center for the Study of Environmental Factors in the Etiology of Autism
University of California Davis Center for Children’s Environmental Health (CCEH)
Format Center
The CCEH was established with the objective of understanding genetic and environmental risk factors contributing to the incidence and severity of childhood autism. The Center’s goal is to understand common patterns of dysfunction in autism and explain why chemicals known to be toxic to the developing nervous and immune systems, or neuroimmunotoxicants, contribute to abnormal development of social behavior in children, leading to strategies for prevention and intervention. The CCEH brings together a multidisciplinary team of research scientists whose main research interest is the understanding of complex etiologies that contribute to autism risk.
Contact URL http://es.epa.gov/ncer/childrenscenters/davis.html
Contact Agency
UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute
2825 50th Street
Sacramento, CA 95817
(916) 703-0280
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