Autism Spectrum Disorder Projects

Through National Institute for Mental Health funding, the objectives of this research are to characterize hippocampal aging trajectories and identify the combination of MRI measures that best predict accelerated memory decline in middle-age and older adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), compared to matched non-ASD. This is relevant to public health because findings will advance fundamental knowledge of brain aging vulnerabilities and mechanisms in ASD. Our long-term goal is identifying biomarkers and intervention targets for precision medicine care of aging autistic adult.

Through funding from the Arizona Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC) Project Development grant, we will perform whole genome analysis on our adult case and control ASD cohort (n=223) to evaluate individuals with ASD for elevated Alzheimer’s polygenic risk score. We will correlate the risk score with existing longitudinal and cognitive brain data.

This project evaluates our newly developed Strengthening Skills intervention which combines social skill training with cognitive compensation training, mindfulness-based emotional regulation, and support group work to improve independence and quality of life in adults with autism spectrum disorder. This program is funded by the U.S. Department of Defense.

The project also includes the evaluation of clinical-grade speech and language biomarkers to measure quality of life, cognition and social communication via personal mobile devices.

This project involves assessing the impact of weekly psycho-educational meetings paired with daily mindfulness meditation through a mobile app on teens with autism. The goal is to reduce stress, anxiety and depression while improving the overall quality of life for these individuals.

This project involves assessing the impact of weekly psycho-educational meetings paired with daily mindfulness meditation through a mobile app on teens with autism. The goal is to reduce stress, anxiety and depression while improving the overall quality of life for these individuals.

This work examines if habit formation techniques in a meditation app improve depression outcomes in autistic adults across their lifespans.

This project is being carried out through a Health Resources and Services Administration Autism Single Investigator Innovation Program (Autism-SIIP) — Autism Transitions Research Project grant.