The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (VKC) is one of a select group of sites selected to launch SPARK, an online research initiative designed to become the largest autism study ever undertaken in the United States. VKC joins 21 leading national research institutions chosen to assist with recruitment. The SPARK effort is being led locally by Zachary Warren, PhD, associate professor of Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Special Education and executive director of the Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorders (TRIAD).
Sponsored by the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative, SPARK will establish a national cohort and collect information and DNA for genetic analysis from 50,000 individuals with autism — and their families — to advance the understanding of the causes of this condition and to hasten the discovery of supports and treatments. Autism is known to have a strong genetic component. To date, approximately 50 genes have been identified that almost certainly play a role in autism, and scientists estimate that an additional 300 or more are involved.
“Families impacted by autism have been desperate for science to provide better answers about the disorder,” Warren said. “SPARK represents a bold attempt to radically advance our fundamental understanding of autism. There has been nothing like this attempted on this scale to date.”