NIH launches $50 Million Autism Data Science Initiative

Rare Daily Staff

The National Institutes of Health has launched the Autism Data Science Initiative, a $50 million research effort that will harness large-scale data resources to explore contributors to the causes and rising prevalence of autism spectrum disorder.

The funding will support 13 pioneering projects that draw on genomic, epigenomic, metabolomic, proteomic, clinical, behavioral, and autism services data. These projects will integrate, aggregate, and analyze existing data resources, generate targeted new data, and validate findings through independent replication hubs.

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, autism prevalence in the United States has risen from fewer than 1 in 2,000 children in the 1970s to about 1 in 31 today. Autism is a highly variable condition characterized by challenges in social communication and interaction, along with restricted or repetitive patterns of behavior and interests.

While these trends underscore the urgency of this research, the underlying causes remain complex and multifaceted. Research supported by NIH and others has shown a strong genetic component to autism risk. However, non-genetic factors — such as environmental exposures and maternal health conditions — are less well understood.

A key feature of the initiative is the use of exposomics — the comprehensive study of environmental, medical, and lifestyle factors in combination with genetics and biology. Projects will investigate a wide range of influences, including environmental contaminants such as pesticides and air pollutants, maternal nutrition and diet, perinatal complications, psychosocial stress, and immune responses during pregnancy and early development.

Examples of funded efforts include examining how prenatal exposures interact with genetic risk in large autism cohorts, how causal inference methods can clarify contributors to rising prevalence, and how adult outcomes, such as community participation and mental health, can be improved through service innovations.

“Our Autism Data Science Initiative will unite powerful datasets in ways never before possible,” NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya said. “By bringing together genetics, biology, and environmental exposures, we are opening the door to breakthroughs that will deepen our understanding of autism and improve lives.”

Photo: NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya