Autism Research Program

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In the NIMH Council Work Group Report on Transformational Neuroscience and Mental Illness (www.nih.nimh.gov - 2008 - co-chaired by Pat Levitt), it was noted that the scope of the research agenda to discover disease etiologies was vast-from individual genes to cells to neural systems and finally to patients in the contexts in which they live. Clearly, bringing together the relevant elements from many disciplines and technologies to bear on these questions will require new alliances among researchers. This is always a challenge, due in large part to fundamental differences between disciplines in research approaches. This, in turn, hinders collaboration and translation. The Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute (ZNI) and the Center for Genomic Psychiatry (CGP) at the Keck School of Medicine (KSOM) of the University of Southern California (USC) together are positioned to make a real difference in the investigation of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at USC. This collaboration is possible because of newly recruited leadership at KSOM, Pat Levitt as Director of the ZNI and Carlos Pato as Chair of the Dept Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and founding Director of the CGP. P30 funding will make it possible to invest now in interdependent research and training activities in ASD, which will enhance our ability to translate fundamental scientific Information into practice in ASD, and serve as a model for program building in other mental health disorders at USC. Thus, this P30 application is a request to jump-start the Autism Research Program at USC. We propose to recruit two new tenure track junior faculty members: The first will be an individual whose main vision is to advance human genetic and gene X environment studies in ASD across the USC, KSOM and CHLA campuses. The second will be an individual whose main vision is to advance genetic and environmental epidemiological studies in ASD, taking advantage of the KSOM long-standing strengths in preventive medicine and the new emphasis on brain-based disorders through the ZNI and CGP. Institutional funds will be available to offset other start-up costs, including our full commitment for at least two additional years of resources for each faculty member beyond the P30 support. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This program will work to organize a rich community of scientists across the USC campus in Engineering, Cinematic Arts, Children's Hospital of Los Angeles and the KSOM who recently have become active in research addressing characterization and interventions in ASD. The funds from the P30 are required to recruit these individuals, with the P30 supporting costs for technical salaries, faculty salaries and equipment.