Autism Speaks Being Heard in Europe Posted by Autism Speaks
staffers Simon Wallace, Ph.D., director of scientific
development for Europe; Dana Marnane, vice president of
awareness and events; and Daniel Lightfoot, Ph.D., director of
the Autism Tissue Program Over the last week, we visited three
European countries to explore partnerships with researchers and
autism organizations. In particular we’ve been discussing Autism
Speaks’ efforts in the areas of awareness, communication, our
Global Autism Public Health (GAPH) initiative and the Autism
Tissue Program (ATP). Pulling our suitcases behind us, our first
stop was in Stockholm, Sweden, where we met with Prof. Sven
Bölte, of the Karolinska Institute for Neurodevelopmental
Disorders, to discuss establishing an autism brain bank in
Sweden. As highlighted in a recent Nature article, one of the
best ways for scientists to understand how autism affects brain
development is by looking directly at the tissue. Just as
diabetes researchers must study the pancreas, scie