In response to the RFA-OD-09-005, Recovery Act Limited Competition: Biomedical Research Core Centers to Enhance Research Resources (P30), the aims of this new application are to support our hiring and providing an appropriate start-up package for an outstanding clinician scientist as a tenure-track faculty at UCLA and to develop resources to support research projects within the context of a specialized new biomedical research core center. The proposed core activities will be conducted primarily within the context of: 1) the UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment (CART), which is one of six NIH Autism Centers of Excellence (ACE) and also one of five ACE Network grants (PI, Geschwind);and will involve a joint appointment for the successful candidate within 2) the Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics (CNG), housing an internationally recognized program in neurogenetics. Both of these centers have been developed within the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior (Semel Institute;formerly the Neuropsychiatric Institute), which provides support and cohesion for a wide range of clinical and basic research activities related to mental health. Lastly, there is broad support for this center across the large, highly collaborative UCLA neuroscience community overseen by the Brain Research Institute (BRI) and the UCLA medical center. As a leading center for autism research, we have taken a multidisciplinary approach to the study of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), integrating our work at many levels, from early diagnosis, genetics and brain imaging to cognition, behavior, psychopharmacology and other treatment modalities. Of particular relevance to this proposed core center application, CART investigators have engaged in strategic planning during the course of our annual retreats. Several years ago, a major outcome of this process was the clearly recognized need to expand our infant research capabilities and to develop a program in electrophysiology. Thus, our highest current priority, and the programmatic goal of this center application is to expand our early infant research and to add expertise in electrophysiologic methods for the study of infants and young, minimally verbal children. This is especially important, given that quantifiable, electrophysiologic brain phenotypes may help us understand some of the neurobiology and the heterogeneity in autism, especially in conjunction with careful deep phenotyping, genetics and neuroimaging.
There is a clearly recognized need to expand infant research capabilities and to develop a program in electrophysiology, which is the programmatic goal of this center application. We want to expand our early infant research and add expertise in electrophysiologic methods for the study of infants and young, minimally verbal children. This is especially important, given that quantifiable, electrophysiologic brain phenotypes may help us understand some of the neurobiology and the heterogeneity in autism, especially in conjunction with careful deep phenotyping, genetics and neuroimaging.
| Jeste, Shafali S; Kirkham, Natasha; Senturk, Damla et al. (2015) Electrophysiological evidence of heterogeneity in visual statistical learning in young children with ASD. Dev Sci 18:90-105 |
| Jeste, Shafali Spurling; Hirsch, Suzanna; Vogel-Farley, Vanessa et al. (2013) Atypical face processing in children with tuberous sclerosis complex. J Child Neurol 28:1569-76 |
| Rudie, Jeffrey David; Dapretto, Mirella (2013) Convergent evidence of brain overconnectivity in children with autism? Cell Rep 5:565-6 |
| Jeste, Shafali S (2011) The neurology of autism spectrum disorders. Curr Opin Neurol 24:132-9 |
| Maski, Kiran P; Jeste, Shafali S; Spence, Sarah J (2011) Common neurological co-morbidities in autism spectrum disorders. Curr Opin Pediatr 23:609-15 |
