The Big Picture
The Autism Science Foundation has provided more than $5 million in direct grants to scientists with cutting-edge ideas that have made a true difference in improving the lives of people with autism. We are proud to share the research and results that were developed with that funding.
Measuring Our Influence
Measuring our own impact is critical to our ongoing efforts. Each year, ASF reviews the progress of all grantees to ensure that funds are being spent properly and are leading to valuable results.
When we followed our past grantees to five years post-award, we found that 86% of them stayed in the field of ASD, whereas only 30% of those who applied and were not funded by ASF continued on in ASD. This indicates that ASF funding helps launch a multi-year commitment to families affected by ASD. You can learn more about ASF’s influence here.
View our 2025 findings below and scroll to the bottom of the page to view findings from previous years.
What causes autism? Understanding the basic biology and gene x environment interactions
Mailick M, Bennett T, DaWalt LS, Durkin MS, Forbes G, Howlin P, Lord C, Zaidman-Zait A, Zwaigenbaum L, Bal V, Bishop S, Chiang CH, Di Martino A, Freitag CM, Georgiades S, Hollocks M, Lai MC, Maenner M, Powell PS, Lounds Taylor J, Halladay A.
PubMed ID: 39902495
ASF Chief Science Officer Alycia Halladay co-authored this publication.
Hawkins B, Montgomery M, Bokotoa G, Santoyo M, Giron E, Eltokhi A
PubMed ID: 41277234
ASF supported this research through a Profound Autism Pilot Grant to Ahmed Eltokhi.
Pruitt A, Gupta AR, Hoffman EJ
PubMed ID: 40801227
ASF supported this research through a Pre-Doctoral Training Award to April Pruitt.
Dougherty JD, Sarafinovska S, Chaturvadi SM, Law TE, Akinwe TM, Gabel HW.
PubMed ID: 40036988
ASF supported this research through a Pre-Doctoral Training Award to Simona Sarafinovska.
Su X, Zhang H, Hong Y, Yang Q, Wang L, Le T, Liu J, Cheruvu L, Labour E, Zhang S, Mendez-Moldonado K, Kreimer A, Song H, Ming GL, Duan J, Pang ZP.
PubMed ID: 40962831
ASF supported this research through a Pre-Doctoral Training Award to Xiao Su.
What are the best ways to support people with autism?
Van der Merwe C, Life B, Phan JM, Halladay A.
DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2025.08.252
ASF Chief Science Officer Alycia Halladay co-authored this publication.
Greatorex J, Straiton-Webster D, Ingersoll B.
PubMed ID: 41009202
ASF supported this research through an Undergraduate Summer Research Award to Jessie Greatorex.
Tagavi DM, Kim ES, Locke J.
PubMed ID: 40498255
ASF supported this research through an Early Career Award to Jill Locke.
What are features of autism that should be the focus of interventions?
Clarke EB, Lord C.
PubMed ID: 40448383
ASF supported this research through a Post-Doctoral Training Award to Elaine Clarke.
Clarke EB, Duncan A, Lord C.
PubMed ID: 39983897
ASF supported this research through a Post-Doctoral Training Award to Elaine Clarke.
Isenstein EL, Freedman EG, Rico GA, Brown Z, Tadin D, Foxe JJ.
PubMed ID: 40228683
ASF supported this research through a Pre-Doctoral Training Award to Emily Isenstein.
Girault, JB.
PubMed ID: 40096794
ASF supported this research through the Baby Siblings Research Consortium.
What new treatments for autism are being developed?
Dai YG, Tagavi DM, Stone WL, Carter AS.
PubMed ID: 39843660
ASF supported this research through an Accelerator Award to Yael Dai and Diana Tagavi.
Tamura S, Nelson AD, Spratt PWE, Hamada EC, Zhou X, Kyoung H, Li Z, Arnould C, Barskyi V, Krupkin B, Young K, Zhao J, Holden SS, Sahagun A, Keeshen CM, Lu C, Ben-Shalom R, Taloma SE, Schamiloglu S, Li YC, Min L, Jenkins PM, Pan JQ, Paz JT, Sanders SJ, Matharu N, Ahituv N, Bender KJ.
PubMed ID: 40963013
ASF supported this research through a Pre-Doctoral Training Award to Serena Tamura.
Kwok A, Pruett JR, Strelnikov J, Zdonczyk A, Culican S, Tyschsen L, Gordon MO, Marrus N, Todorov A, Reynolds M.
Journal Link: IOVS
ASF supported this research through a Profound Autism Pilot Grant to Margaret Reynolds.
What are the differences between males and females with autism?
Burrows C, Sung S, Zheng S, Young GS, Charman T, Klaiman C, Klin A, Marrus N, Ozonoff S, Piven J, Robins DL, Schmidt RJ, Schwichtenberg AJ, Webb SJ, Zwaigenbaum L, Carver LJ, Chawarska K, Curtin S, Jeste SS, Iverson JM, Landa RJ, Messinger DS, Roberts JE, Stone WL, Tager-Flusberg H, Esler AN, Miller M, Bishop SL, Elison JT.
PubMed ID: 40779266
ASF supported this research through the Baby Siblings Research Consortium.
Putnam O, Swisher M, McFayden T, Chan D, Harrop C.
DOI: 10.1177/27546330251351732
ASF supported this research through a Pre-Doctoral Training Award to Orla Putnam.
What research is needed to better understand the life course of people with autism?
Clarke EB, Singer H, Schiltz H, Lord C.
PubMed ID: 39679971
ASF supported this research through a Post-Doctoral Training Award to Elaine Clarke.
Bal VH, Szatmari P, Georgiades S, Gentiles SJ, Girault J, Howlin P, Lai MC, Carter Leno V, Lord C, Madgett K, Sheinkopf SJ, Simonoff E, Williams ZJ, Zwaigenbaum L, Halladay A.
PubMed ID: 40401338
ASF Chief Science Officer Alycia Halladay co-authored this publication.