News and Knowledge

The 16th annual International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR) took place from May 10 to 13 in San Francisco, Calif. More than 1,000 attendees from over 40 countries, including several of OAR’s Scientific Council members, research grantees, and friends, convened to exchange and disseminate the latest findings in autism research. Among the attendees were two OAR’s staff members.

The four-day conference attracted a diverse group of interdisciplinary professionals, including clinical researchers, psychologists, therapists, educators, parents, and self-advocates. The conference featured a wide range of topics that informed autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis, treatment, intervention, and processes, including family issues, assessment evaluations, quality of life measurements, and cultural perspectives, as well as neuroscience, genetics, and new technologies.

IMFAR’s goal is to promote the “highest quality autism research in order to improve the lives of individuals affected by ASD” through:

• Offering career development and networking opportunities for aspiring researchers
• Showcasing a range of studies that address the increasingly diverse needs of autism
• Sparking discussion among individuals with autism and professionals representing various perspectives
• Disseminating research to inform research priorities, public policy, and practice that continue well beyond the event

These highlights, selected from over 1,600 sessions and posters, illustrate in part how IMFAR met its goals and describe contributions from keynotes and OAR-related presenters, as observed by OAR staff:

• Connie Kasari, Ph.D., professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, and 2007 OAR applied grant recipient, gave a keynote on novel, evidence-tested interventions implemented in community settings. Her projects include targeted treatments for early social communication development in at-risk children with autism and peer relationships.
• Ami Klin, Ph.D., director of the Marcus Autism Center at Emory University, along with Warren Jones, Ph.D., director of research at the Marcus Autism Center, led a joint keynote on the research methods they pioneered for visualization and quantification of social visual engagement and reciprocal social interaction. They aim to use their lifelong work on eye-tracking methods to augment access to early intervention services by understanding social development and processing among siblings and twins of children with autism.
• Pat Levitt, Ph.D., Simms/Mann Chair in Developmental Neurogenetics at the Institute for the Developing Mind, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, led a keynote describing his research on epigenetic factors in ASD. Levitt demonstrated the complex relationship of environmental factors and their impact on gene expression in neurons. By examining environmental insults during the development of brain circuitry associated with learning, emotional, and social behavior, Levitt demonstrated the biological basis of heterogeneity in symptoms exhibited by children of autism.
• Jonathan Campbell, Ph.D., professor at the University of Kentucky and member of OAR’s Scientific Council, presented study results on the effectiveness of OAR’s peer education program, Kit for Kids, and the elementary school students’ limited knowledge of autism.
• OAR-funded researchers Lauren Kenworthy, Ph.D., John Strang, Ph.D., Oliver Wendt, Ph.D., Rachel Loftin, Ph.D., and several more, presented on a range of topics including community-based executive function treatments and sexuality education.

“IMFAR provided a great opportunity for us to further our mission through connecting with high-quality research,” says Kamgar-Parsi. “The information we learned at IMFAR will be invaluable in developing our newest resource – a sexuality/sex education resource for people on the autism spectrum.”

Did you attend IMFAR? Share your experience and photos with us at 703-243-9762 or programs@researchautism.org.