Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie’s Eagles Autism Foundation has awarded $10.8 million in grants globally, with three New York institutions each receiving $400,000. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Stony Brook University, and Mount Sinai Hospital’s Icahn School of Medicine in Manhattan shared the grants over two years to advance autism research and pilot programs.
Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory are using their award to investigate inflammation’s role in autism development, specifically examining how influenza and accompanying inflammation during early pregnancy may contribute to the condition. Lucas Cheadle, a neuroscience researcher at Cold Spring Harbor who works with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, notes that studies have shown women with pathogenic infections during pregnancy, including influenza, face a greater risk of autism in their children. About 1 in 36 children can develop autism, and research indicates that between 60% to 80% of autism cases stem from genetic mutations, though genetics and environmental factors together play a role.
The Eagles Autism Challenge, which awarded these grants, received 267 competitive proposals. Scientists reviewed these proposals to fund 54 projects, including 20 different autism research initiatives, 13 pilot grants, and four postdoctoral fellowships. Since 2018, the Eagles Autism Foundation has invested $40 million into 223 autism research projects. “The prevalence of autism has increased year over year at a time this community funding is needed for advocacy support and breakthroughs in treatment and prevention,” said Ryan Hammond, director of the Eagles Autism Foundation.
Lurie’s brother Peter was diagnosed on the autism spectrum in childhood. Grant funding also supported research by Stony Brook associate professor Howard Sirotkin, examining personalized treatments for autism, and Nan Yang, an associate neuroscience professor at the Icahn School of Medicine, who is investigating mutation-specific mechanisms in the genetics disorder often associated with autism. The research aims to develop therapeutic drugs to neutralize inflammatory effects that may cause autism during early pregnancy.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.newsday.com/news/health/autism-cold-spring-harbor-laboratt-jeffrey-lurie-philadelphia-eagles-fj4bp8pz