Autism Gene Identified by Yale and Global Consortium

Fred R. Volkmar, M.D. Yale School of Medicine autism experts Fred R. Volkmar, M.D., and Ami Klin are part of a global research consortium from 19 countries that identified an individual gene and a region of a chromosome that may lead to autism in children. The findings are published online in Nature Genetics and also will be published in the journal’s March print edition. They are based on the largest autism genome scan done to date. The Autism Genome Project (AGP), including over 120 scientists from over 50 institutions who formed performed the research. The AGP began in 2002 when researchers from around the world decided to collaborate and share their samples, data and expertise to aid in identifying autism susceptibility genes.