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Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research: Workshop Proceedings (2008)

Chapter: Appendix B: Workshop Agenda--Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Workshop Agenda--Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research." Institute of Medicine. 2008. Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research: Workshop Proceedings. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11946.
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Page 293
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Workshop Agenda--Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research." Institute of Medicine. 2008. Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research: Workshop Proceedings. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11946.
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Page 294
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Workshop Agenda--Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research." Institute of Medicine. 2008. Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research: Workshop Proceedings. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11946.
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Page 295
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Workshop Agenda--Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research." Institute of Medicine. 2008. Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research: Workshop Proceedings. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11946.
×
Page 296
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Workshop Agenda--Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research." Institute of Medicine. 2008. Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research: Workshop Proceedings. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11946.
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Page 297
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Workshop Agenda--Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research." Institute of Medicine. 2008. Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research: Workshop Proceedings. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11946.
×
Page 298
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Workshop Agenda--Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research." Institute of Medicine. 2008. Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research: Workshop Proceedings. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11946.
×
Page 299
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Workshop Agenda--Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research." Institute of Medicine. 2008. Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research: Workshop Proceedings. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11946.
×
Page 300
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Workshop Agenda--Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research." Institute of Medicine. 2008. Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research: Workshop Proceedings. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11946.
×
Page 301
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Workshop Agenda--Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research." Institute of Medicine. 2008. Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research: Workshop Proceedings. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11946.
×
Page 302
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Workshop Agenda--Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research." Institute of Medicine. 2008. Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research: Workshop Proceedings. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11946.
×
Page 303
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Workshop Agenda--Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research." Institute of Medicine. 2008. Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research: Workshop Proceedings. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11946.
×
Page 304

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B Workshop Agenda Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research Wednesday, April 18, 2007 Keck Building, Room 100 500 Fifth Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20001 Workshop Objectives • Discuss the most promising scientific opportunities for improving the understanding of potential environmental factors in autism. • Discuss what scientific tools and technologies are available, what interdisciplinary research approaches are needed, and what further infrastructure investments will be necessary in the short and long term to be able to explore potential relationships between autism and environmental factors. • Explore potential partnerships needed to support and conduct autism research. 8:00 a.m. Welcome, Introductions, and Workshop Objectives ALAN LESHNER Workshop and Forum Chair Chief Executive Officer, AAAS Executive Publisher, Science 293

294 AUTISM AND THE ENVIRONMENT 8:05 a.m. Charge to Workshop Participants WILLIAM RAUB Science Advisor to the Secretary Department of Health and Human Services 8:15 a.m. Perspectives of the Advocacy Community LAURA BONO Workshop Planning Committee Member Board Member National Autism Association SESSION I: AUTISM—THE CLINICAL PROBLEM: “WHAT DO WE KNOW? WHAT DO WE NEED?” Session Objective: Describe the problem and discuss how environmental factors may impact a developmental disorder like autism. Identify what standards of evidence are needed to move forward. SARAH SPENCE, Session Chair Staff Clinician Pediatrics and Developmental Neuropsychiatry Branch National Institute of Mental Health, NIH 8:25 a.m. Clinical Overview: How Can the Clinical Manifestations of Autism Shed Light on Potential Environmental Etiologies? SUSAN SWEDO Senior Investigator Pediatrics and Developmental Neuropsychiatry Branch National Institute of Mental Health, NIH 8:45 a.m. Genes and the Environment: How May Genetics Be Used to Inform Research Searching for Potential Environmental Triggers? PATRICK LEVITT Director Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development, Vanderbilt University

APPENDIX B 295 9:05 a.m. How May Environmental Factors Impact Potential Mechanisms in Humans? ISAAC PESSAH Director Children’s Center for Environmental Health and Disease Prevention University of California–Davis M.I.N.D. Institute 9:25 a.m. Defining Autism: Biomarkers and Other Research Tools MARTHA HERBERT Assistant Professor of Neurology Harvard Medical School 9:45 a.m. Discussion SARAH SPENCE, Session Chair Staff Clinician Pediatrics and Developmental Neuropsychiatry Branch National Institute of Mental Health, NIH 10:20 a.m. BREAK SESSION II: LESSONS LEARNED FROM OTHER DISORDERS: “STANDARDS OF EVIDENCE” Session Objective: Explore how the autism field may employ approaches and strategies used by other fields. What has been learned from research that has examined environmental exposure effects on other disorders? DAVID SCHWARTZ, Session Chair Director National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH

296 AUTISM AND THE ENVIRONMENT 10:35 a.m. Environmental Toxicants and Neurodevelopment PHILIP LANDRIGAN Chair of Community and Preventive Medicine Mt. Sinai School of Medicine 10:55 a.m. Prenatal Starvation and Schizophrenia EZRA SUSSER Gelman Professor and Chair of Epidemiology Mailman School of Public Health Professor of Psychiatry Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute 11:15 a.m. Asthma FERNANDO MARTINEZ Swift-McNear Professor of Pediatrics Director, Arizona Respiratory Center University of Arizona 11:35 a.m. Discussion DAVID SCHWARTZ, Session Chair Director National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH 12:10 p.m. LUNCH

APPENDIX B 297 SESSION III: ENVIRONMENT AND BIOLOGY I: WHAT ARE THE TOOLS FOR AUTISM— WHAT DO WE HAVE? WHAT DO WE NEED? Session Objective: Review how environmental factors can impact fundamental biological processes. Examine the resources available, and needed, to examine susceptibility to environmental agents. PATRICK LEVITT, Session Chair Director Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development, Vanderbilt University 1:00 p.m. How May Environmental Factors Impact Potential Molecular and Epigenetic Mechanisms? ARTHUR BEAUDET Professor and Chair Department of Molecular and Human Genetics Baylor College of Medicine 1:20 p.m. How May Environmental Factors Impact Potential Cell- Based Mechanisms? MARK NOBLE Professor of Genetics University of Rochester Medical Center 1:40 p.m. How May Animal Models Be Used to Examine Potential Environmental-Based Mechanisms? THEODORE SLOTKIN Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology Duke University Medical Center 2:00 p.m. BREAK

298 AUTISM AND THE ENVIRONMENT 2:20 p.m. Autism, Infection, and Immunity: What Are the Potential Causative Environmental Factors and How Can They Be Identified and Prioritized? W. IAN LIPKIN Director, Columbia Center for Infection and Immunity Mailman School of Public Health of Columbia University, and Scientific Director, Northeast Biodefense Center 2:40 p.m. Environmental Factors and Oxidative Stress: How May Oxidative Stress Impact the Biology of Autism? What Factors May Be Causing This Outcome? S. JILL JAMES Professor of Pediatrics University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences 3:00 p.m. Discussion PATRICK LEVITT, Session Chair Director Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development, Vanderbilt University SESSION IV: NEW APPROACHES AND DISCUSSION WITH WORKSHOP ATTENDEES 4:20 p.m. Discussion with Meeting Participants and Audience ALAN LESHNER, Moderator Workshop and Forum Chair Chief Executive Officer, AAAS Executive Publisher, Science 5:30 p.m. ADJOURN

APPENDIX B 299 Thursday, April 19, 2007 Keck Building, Room 100 500 Fifth Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20001 SESSION V: ENVIRONMENTAL EPIDEMIOLOGY— UTILIZING POPULATION-BASED STUDIES TO ISOLATE THE ENVIRONMENTAL CAUSES OF AUTISM Session Objective: Discuss and identify what resources are available and what is needed to help frame future directions for environmental epidemiology studies. HENRY FALK, Session Chair Director Coordinating Center for Environmental Health and Injury Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 8:00 a.m. Environmental Epidemiology Studies: New Techniques and Technologies to Use Epidemiology to Find Environmental Triggers IRVA HERTZ-PICCIOTTO Professor of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine University of California–Davis 8:20 a.m. Environmental Exposures in Autism: International Studies CRAIG NEWSCHAFFER Professor and Chairman of Epidemiology and Biostatistics Drexel University 8:40 a.m. Environmental Epidemiology Studies: CADDRE DIANA SCHENDEL National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

300 AUTISM AND THE ENVIRONMENT 9:00 a.m. Prenatal and Perinatal Exposures ALLEN WILCOX Chief Epidemiology Branch National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH 9:20 a.m. Discussion HENRY FALK, Session Chair Director Coordinating Center for Environmental Health and Injury Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention SESSION VI: TECHNOLOGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH Session Objective: Discuss and identify what tools are currently available to assess environmental exposure, and what additional scientific tools and technologies are needed in the short and long term. HENRY FALK, Session Chair Director Coordinating Center for Environmental Health and Injury Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 9:50 a.m. CDC Environmental Health Lab—Body Burden Measures LARRY NEEDHAM Chief Organic Analytical Toxicology Branch National Center for Environmental Health, CDC

APPENDIX B 301 10:10 a.m. Personalized Environmental Sensors DAVID WALT Professor of Chemistry Tufts University 10:30 a.m. Discussion HENRY FALK, Session Chair Director Coordinating Center for Environmental Health and Injury Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention SESSION VII: FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS— DISCUSSION WITH WORKSHOP SPEAKERS Session Objective: Discuss what a research agenda for autism and the environment might look like. 11:00 a.m. FERNANDO MARTINEZ Swift-McNear Professor of Pediatrics Director, Arizona Respiratory Center University of Arizona ISAAC PESSAH Director, Children’s Center for Environmental Health and Disease Prevention University of California–Davis M.I.N.D. Institute 12:30 p.m. LUNCH SESSION VIII: PUBLIC–PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS Session Objective: Identify the unique strengths that the public and private sectors provide to the autism research. Discuss how each of these sectors can most effectively complement each other’s efforts. ALAN LESHNER, Moderator Workshop and Forum Chair Chief Executive Officer, AAAS Executive Publisher, Science

302 AUTISM AND THE ENVIRONMENT 1:00 p.m. Panel Discussion SALLIE BERNARD Board Member, Autism Speaks Cofounder, SafeMinds HENRY FALK Director Coordinating Center for Environmental Health and Injury Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention GARY GOLDSTEIN Chair, Autism Speaks Scientific Affairs Committee President and Chief Executive Officer, Kennedy Krieger Institute TOM INSEL Director National Institute of Mental Health, NIH LYN REDWOOD Board Member and Science Committee Chair National Autism Association DAVID SCHWARTZ Director National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH 1:45 p.m. General Panel Discussion ALAN LESHNER, Moderator Workshop and Forum Chair Chief Executive Officer, AAAS Executive Publisher, Science

APPENDIX B 303 SESSION IX: DISCUSSION WITH MEETING PARTICIPANTS AND AUDIENCE 2:15 p.m. ALAN LESHNER, Moderator Workshop and Forum Chair Chief Executive Officer, AAAS Executive Publisher, Science 3:15 p.m. ADJOURN

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Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) constitute a major public health problem, affecting one in every 150 children and their families. Unfortunately, there is little understanding of the causes of ASD, and, despite their broad societal impact, many people believe that the overall research program for autism is incomplete, particularly as it relates to the role of environmental factors.

The Institute of Medicine's Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous System Disorders, in response to a request from the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, hosted a workshop called "Autism and the Environment: Challenges and Opportunities for Research." The focus was on improving the understanding of the ways in which environmental factors such as chemicals, infectious agents, or physiological or psychological stress can affect the development of the brain.

Autism and the Environment documents the concerted effort which brought together the key public and private stakeholders to discuss potential ways to improve the understanding of the ways that environmental factors may affect ASD. The presentations and discussions from the workshop that are described in this book identify a number of promising directions for research on the possible role of different environmental agents in the etiology of autism.

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