![Headshots of the recipients of the Simons Foundation's 2024 Independence Awards.](https://simonsfoundation.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/16143110/2024-Independence-Fellows-Announcement-3.png?auto=format&q=90&w=375&fit=crop&h=190)
SFARI’s mission is to improve the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders by funding innovative research of the highest quality and relevance.
![Headshots of the recipients of the Simons Foundation's 2024 Independence Awards.](https://simonsfoundation.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/16143110/2024-Independence-Fellows-Announcement-3.png?auto=format&q=90&w=375&fit=crop&h=190)
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Funding Opportunities
We solicit applications for SFARI Awards from individuals who will conduct bold, imaginative, rigorous and relevant research in four main research areas: gene discovery, molecular mechanisms, circuits, cognition and behavior, and clinical.
Since its launch in 2006, SFARI has supported over 550 investigators studying autism-related research in the U.S. and abroad. Research projects include studies at the genetic, molecular, cellular, circuit and behavioral levels, in addition to clinical and translational studies.
Research Highlights
![Image from research by Juergen Knoblich.](https://simonsfoundation.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/09145329/Knoblich_image-scaled.jpeg?auto=format&q=90&w=80&h=80&fit=crop)
Two studies by different research groups — one led by Flora Vaccarino and the other by Juergen Knoblich — used brain organoids derived from pluripotent stem cells of people with autism and showed how transcriptional alterations affecting certain cell types during human brain development could contribute to the early emergence of ASD.
![proteostasis cycle](https://simonsfoundation.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/21144738/twitter-ups-4.jpeg?auto=format&q=90&w=80&h=80&fit=crop)
In a mouse model of fragile X syndrome, Emily Osterweil and her colleagues show that excessive protein synthesis drives a pathological compensatory rise in protein degradation (by the ubiquitin proteasome system), which can be targeted to correct various phenotypes including audiogenic seizures.
![Science study images](https://simonsfoundation.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/14162511/Haskins_AutismResearch_SummaryFig-scaled.jpg?auto=format&q=90&w=80&h=80&fit=crop)
A study by Caroline Robertson and her colleagues found that reduced social attention was not a static omnipresent characteristic of autism; rather, it was magnified only under certain real-world conditions where sensory processing demands were high.
Event Videos
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SFARI 2023 Human Cognitive and Behavioral Science RFA: Informational session
March 7, 2023
On March 7, 2023, SFARI held an informational session about the 2022 Human Cognitive and Behavioral Science request for applications (RFA)
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SFARI 2022 Bridge to Independence Award RFA: Informational session
January 10, 2022
SFARI hosted an informational session on the 2022 Bridge to Independence Award (BTI) request for applications (RFA). The session provided a brief overview of the BTI program...
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Small molecules, genes and antisense oligonucleotides: Industry perspectives on treatment development for ASD
May 14, 2021
Federico Bolognani, Stuart Cobb, and Yael Weiss joined a panel to discuss new industry developments on the use of small molecules, gene therapy and antisense oligonucleotides...
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New research results from the Australian Autism Biobank study
May 12, 2021
Jake Gratten and Naomi Wray presented findings from the Australian Autism Biobank study, an initiative to establish an Australian resource of biospecimens, phenotypes and...
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