US NIH's $50 million autism initiative grounded in science

By Ahmed Aboulenein and Robin Respaut

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. National Institutes of Health granted $50 million this week to fund 13 autism research projects that scientists and advocates say stand out for their rigor and potential to deliver credible answers.

The research projects, announced as President Donald Trump linked autism to childhood vaccines and popular pain medication Tylenol despite a lack of scientific evidence, focus on examining a wide breadth of data.

"They represent everything from cell biology to epidemiology, genetics and gene x environment interactions," and how people with autism grow and change over time, said Dr. Alycia Halladay, chief science officer at the Autism Science Foundation. "We are really impressed with the scope of the projects and the teams that were awarded the funding."

CONTRAST WITH OTHER GOVERNMENT AUTISM ACTIONS

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the Autism Data Science Initiative in May, aiming to mine large datasets to investigate possible contributors to autism and evaluate existing treatments.

He has also initiated other autism work. It includes a vaccine safety review led by David Geier, who like Kennedy promotes debunked claims linking vaccines to autism, and a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention contract with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute investigating a possible association between autism prevalence and vaccines. Previous rigorous scientific studies have found no such link.

The NIH awards prioritize the study of non-genetic environmental influences on autism, which aligns with Kennedy's belief that environmental contributors, which he calls "toxins", are behind its rising prevalence.

"These are highly reputable groups, and they cover a range of topics," said Dr. Helen Tager-Flusberg, director of Boston University's Center for Autism Research Excellence and head of the Coalition of Autism Scientists.

"We see a glimmer of light, and it poses a huge contrast to what we heard at the press conference on Monday," she said.

Several influential medical groups have expressed alarm at the effects of Trump's Tylenol comments.

RECIPIENTS TO STUDY PREGNANCY AND EXPOSURES 

Nearly 500 major universities and research institutions, advocacy organizations, and data firms sought funding, according to a list of applicants reviewed by Reuters. Over 250 research teams applied, NIH Director Jay Battacharya said on Monday.

Dr. David Mandell, a psychiatry professor and autism expert at the University of Pennsylvania, is part of a team working on how pregnancy and environmental exposures, combined with changes in diagnosis and access to services, could help explain the rise in autism cases.

Autism diagnoses in the United States have surged since 2000, with recent government data showing 1 in 31 eight-year-old children were diagnosed with the condition in 2022.

There was some concern that HHS "was going to funnel money to examine pet hypotheses, or to people who might be more likely to gather or interpret data in a way that supported some of Secretary Kennedy's hypotheses," said Mandell.

GENOMIC DATA AND ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES

Six projects will integrate genomic data with environmental exposures to examine autism's potential causes, a field known as epigenetics. Others will focus on links between autism prevalence and environmental factors; access to services; data science models; and interactions between dietary and chemical exposures.

Advocacy group Autism Speaks praised several of the projects but said the initiative should not replace other programs cut by the Trump administration including existing autism research, data and healthcare training programs that were authorized in the Autism CARES Act.

Oregon Health & Science University pediatrics professor Katharine Zuckerman said her team will analyze Medicaid claims and early-intervention records to identify factors predicting better outcomes for autistic children.

"While it's important to understand the causes," Zuckerman said, "it's at least as important to figure out how we can help autistic people who are here right now."

(Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein in Washington and Robin Respaut in San Francisco; Editing by Caroline Humer and Bill Berkrot)