Autism Speaks Funded Science in North Carolina

Since 1997, Autism Speaks has funded over $6,379,005 in research grants in the state of North Carolina. Funded studies include work done at:

• Duke University
• Duke University, Medical Center
• Duke University, Medical Center, Department of Neurobiology 
• University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, School of Medicine, Biochemistry & Biophysics

February 2009:  Autism Speaks Announces $5 Million to Fund Studies on Genetic and Environmental Risk Factors for Autism
Combines Two Projects to Research Risk from Pre-Natal Development Through Early Childhood

Researcher Joseph Piven, M.D., University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, hopes his multi-site effort, Infant Brain Imaging Study (IBIS), will help to identify brain differences in children who develop ASD using brain imaging techniques to monitor and analyze the brain development of 544 very young infant siblings of children with autism. Some of these infants may go on to develop ASD. Their brain images will be compared to those of other “typical” infants, to identify differences between children who develop autism and those who do not. This study involves examination and correlation of the brain and behavioral changes in very early life that may mark the onset of autistic symptoms. Little is known about the abnormal processes during early brain development in children with ASD and this research could offer new insights that lead to earlier diagnosis of ASD.  Learn more about this announcement.

Local Researcher Spotlight

Dr. Joseph Piven - UNC School of Medicine
Sarah Graham Kenan Professor of Psychiatry, Pediatrics and Psychology
Director of the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities

Joseph Piven received his Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of Maryland, and his M.D. from the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Upon completing medical school, Dr. Piven spent one year as an intern at Good Samaritan hospital in Phoenix, Arizona, before returning to Maryland to do his residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. He was named Chief Resident of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

In 1991, Dr. Piven moved to Iowa City, Iowa as a Professor at the University of Iowa College of Medicine. While at Iowa, Dr. Piven first served as Director and Attending Psychiatrist at the Developmental Disorders Clinic at UIHC.

Piven is currently Sarah Graham Kenan Professor of Psychiatry, Pediatrics and Psychology, and Director of the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has been a member of the UNC faculty for the last nine years. Recently he was named Editor-in-Chief of the newly created Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Dr. Piven’s research is focused on the pathogenesis of autism including neural mechanisms, genetic basis and neuropsychological and behavioral phenotypes. He is the lead researcher on multiple autism-related studies and currently leads a multi-center national study.


National Science Initiatives

• Autism Treatment Network
• Clinical Trials Network    

Participate in Research

• Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE)- for two or more family members affected by autism
• Family Participation in Research - connecting families with researchers recruiting participants
• Interactive Autism Network (IAN) - an online project allowing parents to report information about their child's diagnosis, behavior, environment, services received, as well as progress over time.
• Autism Tissue Program (ATP) - a parent-led post-mortem brain tissue donation program
• UNC Infant Brain Imaging Study - Study participants needed