Cleyton R. Sobrinho is a research assistant professor in the Department of Physiology and Neurobiology at the University of Connecticut. He did his undergraduate studies at the University of Franca in Brazil before earning a Ph.D. in Physiology from the University of São Paulo. In his doctoral thesis, he used a combination of slice-patch electrophysiology and behavioral approaches to understand how the brain regulates breathing automatically across varying levels of consciousness. In his current position, Sobrinho continues to pursue his interests in control of breathing, this time in the context of autism. The goal of his ongoing efforts is to determine how loss of certain high risk autism genes disrupt cardiorespiratory function and contribute to early mortality. Since controlled breathing is well known to reduce stress and anxiety, he is also testing whether treatments designed to induce slow deep breathing can positively impact symptoms of autism in mouse models.