Feinberg
Northwestern Medicine | Northwestern University | Faculty Profiles

News Center

  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
  • Press Releases
  • Media Coverage
  • Podcasts
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Menu
  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
  • Press Releases
  • Media Coverage
  • Podcasts
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Home » New Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment Announced
Campus News

New Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment Announced

By Anna WilliamsJan 12, 2018
Share
Facebook Twitter Email
Peter Penzes, PhD, Behavioral Sciences, FSM
Peter Penzes, PhD, the Ruth and Evelyn Dunbar Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, has been named director of the new Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment.

Feinberg has announced the launch of a new Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment, with Peter Penzes, PhD, named as director.

The mission of the Center is to catalyze scientific collaborations aimed at understanding the biological bases of autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders, and to translate those findings into new treatments.

“There is an urgent need to develop new treatments for autism spectrum disorders, which pose an immense challenge to affected families. Such treatments can only emerge from a better understanding of brain development and how it goes awry in autism and related disorders. This center brings together world-renowned experts in brain development and function at Northwestern to address this need,” said Penzes, the Ruth and Evelyn Dunbar Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and a professor of Physiology.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a highly prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by a range of symptoms, including difficulty with communication and social interactions. One in 68 children have been identified as having ASD, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

People with autism also often have other neurodevelopmental disorders and comorbidities, such as intellectual disabilities, seizure disorders or epilepsy, anxiety and depression.

There is currently no cure, and available treatments are limited. Although a number of genes have been linked to autism in recent years, the development of novel therapies for autism and related disorders has proven difficult, largely because their biological bases are not well understood, Penzes said.

To deepen discovery, the Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment brings together basic and clinician scientists from a broad range of fields and employs a multi-pronged approach to research — including basic biology, mouse and human neuronal models, and translational and clinical neuroscience, as well as investigation into comorbid disorders.

“My hope is that the presence of the Center will encourage novel and innovative basic, translational and clinical research in autism spectrum disorder that will one day bring about more effective treatments or even a cure for this complex and often devastating disorder,” said Dana Brazdziunas, MD, chief of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics in the Department of Pediatrics. “As a clinician, I look forward to collaborating with the Center to make this all happen.”

Faculty Leadership
Share. Facebook Twitter Email

Related Posts

AOA Honors New Members

Mar 20, 2023

Future Directions in Continuing Medical Education

Mar 14, 2023

Lieber Receives VA Rehabilitation Research and Development Award 

Mar 13, 2023

Comments are closed.

Latest News

Hormone Therapy Plus Current Treatments Improves Survival in Prostate Cancer

Mar 22, 2023

How ChatGPT Has, and Will Continue to, Transform Scientific Research

Mar 21, 2023

New Directions for HIV Treatment

Mar 21, 2023

Humans are Not Just Big Mice: Identifying Science’s Muscle-Scaling Problem

Mar 20, 2023

AOA Honors New Members

Mar 20, 2023
  • News Center Home
  • Categories
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
  • News Archives
  • About Us
Flickr Photos
20230315_NM036
20230315_NM046
20230315_NM134
20230315_NM205
20230315_NM206
20230315_NM132
20230315_NM130
20230315_NM082
20230315_NM063
20230315_NM058
20230315_NM030
20230315_NM038

Northwestern University logo

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

RSS Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Flickr YouTube Instagram
Copyright © 2023 Northwestern University
  • Contact Northwestern University
  • Disclaimer
  • Campus Emergency Information
  • Policy Statements

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.