Researcher Douglas Dean, III, PhD, assistant professor, Division of Neonatology and Newborn Nursery, and Department of Medical Physics, is a member of a Waisman Center research team that recently received $10 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for a pioneering longitudinal study examining aging in autistic adults. The research is led by both the Waisman Center team and a research team from the University of Utah. The $10 million award is part of a $100 million NIH award supporting autism spectrum disorder (ASD) research at nine Autism Centers of Excellence.
Studies suggest that adults with ASD may have shorter lives because of their condition. Researchers hope that this study will point to ways to improve long-term health for people with ASD. “It’s exciting to have the opportunity to conduct this study,” Dean said. “This longitudinal data this study is set to acquire will provide an incredible amount of information about aging in autism and will be a unique resource to the field.”
The Waisman Center published “NIH awards $10 million to researchers at UW–Madison the the University of Utah for landmark study on aging in autistic adults” on September 16, 2022.