A number of presentations will be given by SFARI Investigators at Neuroscience 2023, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience.

SFARI is pleased to announce that it intends to fund 9 grants in response to the 2023 Winter Pilot Award request for applications.

In order to advance the frontiers of research in science, the Simons Foundation recognizes the need for a diversity of ideas and perspectives contributing to the scientific enterprise. To that end, the foundation supports talented early-career scientists from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds as they transition from mentored training to independent research positions.

The Simons Foundation is pleased to announce this year’s recipients of its prestigious independence awards. The 13 fellows will receive support as they transition from mentored training to independent research positions.

Phenotypic data from 328,973 participants enrolled in SPARK, including 132,138 individuals with ASD, are now available to approved researchers. Genomic data also is available for 116,693 SPARK participants, specifically 106,744 (44,304 ASD) with whole exome sequencing, and 12,519 (3,575 ASD) with whole genome sequencing. A total of 2,570 individuals have both.

A SFARI initiated and funded reanalysis of previous studies reveals consistent biological signals in the human microbiome and other physiological signals associated with autism and highlights the need for long-term studies to determine autism’s underlying causes.

SFARI is pleased to announce that it intends to fund 15 grants in response to the 2022 Genomics of ASD: Pathways to Genetic Therapies request for applications.

The Simons Foundation is now accepting applications from undergraduate students to participate in the Shenoy Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Neuroscience, or SURFiN, for the 2023–2024 academic year. The program’s goal is to spark and sustain interest in neuroscience among undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds underrepresented in neuroscience research. SURFiN is a joint initiative from the Simons Collaboration on the Global Brain (SCGB), the Simons Collaboration on Plasticity and the Aging Brain (SCPAB) and the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI).

New Simons Searchlight data were recently added to SFARI Base. The data released included phenotypic data from individuals with 16p11.2 copy number variant (CNVs), 1q21.1 CNVs, 7q11.23 duplication and variants in 32 single genes associated with autism and related neurodevelopmental conditions.

Phenotypic data from 310,649 participants enrolled in SPARK, including 123,444 individuals with ASD, are now available to approved researchers. Genomic data (whole-exome sequencing and genome-wide genotyping data) are also available for 81,172 SPARK participants. Of these, 3,568 genomes and 34,164 exomes are from individuals with ASD.