Drexel School of Public Health awarded $14M NIH grant for autism research

“This new grant award to Drexel University exemplifies the research that NIH is supporting to better understand the interplay between genetic and environmental factors and the development of diseases like ASD,” said Cindy Lawler, Ph.D., scientific program director at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. “By following a large cohort of mothers of autistic children and their newborn siblings, the grantees will be providing valuable insight into some of the environmental factors that may contribute to the development of autism.”

Under the direction of Newschaffer, the Drexel School of Public Health will lead overall recruitment and outreach efforts for the study. The Philadelphia-based research site, led by Newschaffer, includes Dr. Susan Levy at CHOP, Dr. Jennifer Pinto-Martin at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, and Dr. Jennifer Culhane at the Drexel University College of Medicine. The research site will directly recruit participants from the southeastern Pennsylvania region, including Bucks, Delaware, Chester and Montgomery counties and the City of Philadelphia. The other research sites will also recruit participants from their local areas.

The research team expects to begin enrollment of participants into the study by early 2009.

The ACE award will allow the School of Public Health to build upon its ongoing research on ASDs. A renowned autism epidemiologist, Newschaffer is currently a co-principal investigator in the national Study to Explore Early Development (SEED). Launched by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, SEED is a 5-year, multi-site study designed to identify childhood risks for ASDs and other developmental disabilities. Newschaffer is also involved in CDC-funded autism prevalence monitoring activities and work on other studies searching for autism risk factors, including a project on autism, autoimmunity and the environment funded by Autism Speaks.

The Drexel University School of Public Health promotes the health of communities through education, research, service and practice. As the only school of public health in the greater Philadelphia region, the school’s innovative academic and research programs integrate real world experience with classroom learning in one of the most diverse and culturally rich communities in the United States. The School of Public Health is built on a foundation of understanding that health and human rights are inextricably entwined. This unique, community-collaborative approach fosters leadership and provides students with the critically necessary hands-on experience to meet today’s public health demands.

For more information on the Drexel University School of Public Health, visit http://publichealth.drexel.edu.