Congratulations to Dr. Valerio Zerbi on receiving an ETH Seed Grant
NCM Lab member Dr. Valerio Zerbi received the funding for his work using novel imaging techniques in combination with genetic models to better understand how genetic risk factors converge to result in the same group of symptoms that lead to an Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis.
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are highly heterogeneous with respect to both causes and symptoms, which presents a substantial challenge to diagnosis and treatment. One emerging hypothesis is that within the autism spectrum there are common modes of dysfunctional pathways at the brain circuit level. Techniques that would allow visualizing these processes non-invasively would facilitate the development of therapies. To date, such techniques for use in experimental models and patients are not yet available. My proposal uses novel imaging techniques in combination with genetic models of ASD to better understand how genetic risk factors converge to result in the same group of symptoms diagnosed as ASD, bridging a current gap in knowledge. The aim is to experimentally probe the existence of a relationship between neural connectivity, genetics and behavior. The methods developed here could be applied to efficiently screen for ASD subgroups and help to define endophenotypes within the autism spectrum that will benefit from targeted hypothesis-driven treatments.