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Personal Statement:
If elected as President of INSAR, I would see my role to serve you, the thousands of autism researchers who dedicate your lives to advancing our understanding of autism. I would give people with autism a central voice in INSAR so that we conduct research with people with autism, not about them. I would give equal priority to basic science and to translational research, particularly highlighting the need to fix society, so that people with autism feel comfortable, and feel a sense of belonging. Our research in the Lancet Psychiatry found that two thirds of adults with Asperger Syndrome feel suicidal, and one third have attempted suicide. This reflects the appalling ways in which people with autism have been excluded and marginalised, and where their differences and talents have been ignored. Finally, I would continue to grow INSAR to be truly international, connecting autism research globally.
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Bio sketch:
Simon Baron-Cohen is Professor of Developmental Psychopathology, University of Cambridge and Fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge. He is Director, Autism Research Centre (ARC) in Cambridge. He has a degree in Human Sciences from New College, Oxford, a PhD in Psychology from UCL, and an MPhil in Clinical Psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry, London and he held lectureships in these departments. He is author of Mindblindness, The Essential Difference, Prenatal Testosterone in Mind, and Zero Degrees of Empathy. He has edited scholarly anthologies including Understanding Other Minds, Synaesthesia, and The Maladapted Mind. He has written books for parents and teachers including Autism and Asperger Syndrome: The Facts, and Teaching Children with Autism to Mindread. He has celebrated autism in An Exact Mind. He is author of the DVDs Mind Reading and The Transporters, to help children with autism learn emotion recognition, both nominated for BAFTA awards. He is author of >450 scientific articles. He has supervised 30 PhD students.
In 1985 Baron-Cohen formulated and went on to test the ‘mindblindness’ theory of autism. In 1997, he formulated and went on to test the ‘fetal sex steroid’ theory of autism. He has also made contributions to the fields of autism prevalence and screening, autism genetics, autism neuroimaging, autism and technical ability, typical cognitive sex differences, and synaesthesia. In 1999 Baron-Cohen created the first UK clinic for adults with suspected Asperger Syndrome, called the CLASS clinic (Cambridge Lifespan Asperger Syndrome Service), at a time when the National Health Service (NHS) did not see the clinical need for this. This has helped over 1,000 patients to have their disability recognized, the “lost generation” of adults who had missed out on diagnosis in childhood, and has been used to create a model for similar clinical services all over the UK.
Baron-Cohen has received awards from the British Psychological Society (BPS) (Spearman Medal); the American Psychological Association (McCandless Award); the BPS (May Davison Award); the Autism Award Philadelphia Autism Association/Princeton University; the Presidents’ Award (BPS); the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA), Joseph Lister Lecturer; the Lifetime Achievement Award, MENSA; and Kanner-Asperger Medal (German Society for Research into Autism). He is a Fellow of the BPS, the British Academy, and the American Psychological Association. He is Vice-President of the National Autistic Society, Autism Anglia, and was President, Psychology Section of the British Association and Vice-President, International Society for Autism Research (INSAR). He was Chair of the NICE Guideline Development Group for Autism (Adults), is Scientific Advisor or Patron to 6 autism charities, and a member of the Department of Health Program Board, Autism Strategy. He is Chair of the Psychology Section of the British Academy. He is co-editor in chief of the journal Molecular Autism and on the Editorial Board of many journals, including the Lancet Psychiatry.
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Personal Statement:
Over the past decade, INSAR has become the single most important global autism research organization. Its success has come from promoting an integrated approach and understanding of ASD across multiple platforms, including the IMFAR meeting and the journal, as well as efforts to develop the next generation of autism researchers. INSAR’s achievements in developing collaboration and fostering research in diagnostic, clinical, behavioral, service delivery and neuropsychological aspects of ASD have been particularly impressive. INSAR is now poised to match these important achievements by expanding its focus on basic and preclinical research. I am running for President of INSAR because I believe my experience in both clinical and basic science makes me uniquely qualified to lead INSAR through this next important phase of its mission. |
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Bio sketch:
I am a molecular and cellular neuroscientist and have been a Professor of Psychiatry, Neuroscience, and Genetics and Genomic Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai for the past 19 years. My lab focuses on using genetic and functional methods to identify and characterize genes and pathways involved in ASD. I am also the Director of the Seaver Autism Center at Mount Sinai where, in 2015, over 220 new diagnostic evaluations for clinical and research purposes were completed. We see children and adults across a range of ages and levels of functioning, and, in 2015, approximately 100 people were in ongoing treatment including psychotherapy, social skills groups, and/or medication management. Last year over 180 people participated in clinical research, including clinical trials, neuroimaging, and genetic studies. At the Seaver Autism Center, we have worked hard to combine our clinical and basic science teams to promote the best outcomes for people with autism, while also fostering and developing the careers of our young investigators. I serve on the scientific advisory boards of the Autism Science Foundation and the Phelan-McDermid Syndrome Foundation where I have learned about the need to focus on patient outcome while always pursuing the highest quality research and science. In addition, I serve as co-editor-in-chief of Molecular Autism, and am founder and co-Principal Investigator of the Autism Sequencing Consortium, which is a global initiative – including 40 groups worldwide and growing – dedicated to understanding the genetic architecture of ASD. In addition, I was recently elected to the National Academy of Medicine. My experience working with young investigators, patient groups and large, global, collaborative teams of scientists with both preclinical and clinical expertise has made me particularly qualified for the challenges and opportunities ahead for INSAR. As INSAR President, I would draw on my experience in both basic and clinical research to build new opportunities for international collaboration, inclusiveness and scientific excellence across all aspects of ASD research.
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