Autism BrainNet to acquire, process, store and distribute brain tissue to accelerate autism research

Autism Speaks and the Simons Foundation announced the establishment and funding of a new network of sites to collect brain tissue to advance autism research through brain donation at today's International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR).

The network, Autism BrainNet, will build off over a decade of contributions to the tissue-based research community made by Autism Speaks Autism Tissue Program (ATP) and other brain banks. Autism BrainNet will establish, for the first time, a multi-site network that will acquire, process, store, and distribute brain tissue resources to accelerate understanding of the biological basis of autism.

"Brain donation is a difficult subject for many and takes courage to discuss, but experiments on human brain tissue are now the very best way forward in attempts to improve the quality of life of those on the autism spectrum," says Gerald D. Fischbach, M.D., Scientific Director of the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI). "And recent research advances demand nothing less than an interactive network of regional nodes as the best way forward."

The ATP, Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, the University of California MIND Institute, and the University of Texas at Southwestern Medical School will be the first four institutional partners of Autism BrainNet. David Amaral, Ph.D., of the MIND Institute, will serve as the network's first director. The network will grow to include more national and international partners and will eventually assume the operations of the ATP as well.

"Autism Speaks' ATP has been the largest program solely dedicated to increasing and enhancing the availability of brain tissue to as many qualified scientists as possible," said Autism Speaks chief science officer, Geraldine Dawson, Ph.D. "We are excited to greatly broaden its reach in this new network and thank all the families who generously donated tissue over the past 12 years."

Autism BrainNet represents the culmination of consensus building activities over the past years among key experts in the field of brain banking, both inside and outside the autism field. "It is enormously satisfying to see the collaborative efforts of the workgroup delivering on the promises of a model presented to the field for discussion at last year's IMFAR," said Robert Ring, Ph.D., Autism Speaks vice president of translational research. "With more than $7.5 million in funding over the next five years, this collaboration between the Simons Foundation, Autism Speaks, and the Nancy Lurie Marks Foundation will be game changing - with the potential to advance the field of autism brain research in ways previously not possible."

The Autism BrainNet portal will launch in the fall of 2013, allowing the autism community to access research results and learn about how brain research contributes to understanding and treating ASD.