In June 2003, more than a dozen of the country’s leading autism experts met for an unusual ‘Autism Think Tank’ in New York City. Over two days, they sat at one large table, brainstorming research ideas in genetics, brain imaging, neurophysiology ― anything that might help propel the field toward a cure.
On the genetics front, the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE) had for the previous six years been populating a gene bank of blood samples from children with autism and their families across the country.
In what managing director Clara Lajonchere calls a “swat team approach,” the California-based AGRE group sends medical teams directly to the children’s homes for cognitive tests and blood samples. AGRE then makes that data available to any reputable researcher.
But the massive effort ― the group has sampled 1,717 families to date ― has a few drawbacks.
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