Matthew Belmonte, Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Development, brought together a panel of autism researchers and practitioners for a one-day update on current neurobiological theories of autism, and how this science relates to therapeutic practices for people with autism spectrum conditions, their parents, educators and other caregivers.  The conference, Autism in Central New York: Research and Practice, held in October was attended by 70 family members, educators, service providers, and students. Topics covered included the heritability of autism, genetics and the immune system, medications and autism, family dynamics, and autism services in Upstate New York.

Matthew Belmonte highlighted his research which has shown that short-range, local connections between brain cells may be abnormally strong in whole families affected by autism, whereas long-range connections may be abnormally disrupted just in those family members who develop autism. Other presenters included:

Evdokia Anagnostou , a clinician scientist at Bloorview Research Institute and assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Toronto. Her research explores autistic brain function and how it is affected by drugs.

Karen Fried, a licensed psychologist and Director of Autism Services at the Racker Centers in Ithaca, New York, and 1990 graduate of the Department of Human Development. She focuses on early diagnosis, intensive behavioural intervention, teaching, and integration of support from families, schools and communities.

Bill Hudenko, a licensed psychologist and assistant professor of clinical psychology and director of the Advancing Autism Treatment laboratory at Ithaca College. His current autism research interests include family dynamics, treatment outcomes, and new tests that can measure how symptoms change over time.

Antonio Persico is an associate professor of physiology at the Università “Campus Bio-Medico” and director of the Laboratory of Molecular Psychiatry and Psychiatric Genetics at the Fondazione Santa Lucia in Rome. His research focuses on the interacting genetic and environmental factors that can predispose the brain to autism or protect against it.
For More Information
Presentations from the Autism Conference

Email updates from Belmonte’s lab on autism research: send a message to autism-L-request@cornell.edu with the single word join in the body of the message.