Autism Speaks, the global nonprofit dedicated to promoting solutions, across the spectrum and throughout the life span, for the needs of people with autism and their families, today announced more than $4.7 million in grant funding to 26 researchers studying autism. As a major funder of autism research, Autism Speaks is committed to advancing the study of causes and better interventions for autism spectrum disorder and related conditions.

Willsey Lab member Nia Teerikorpi was awarded a Weatherstone Predoctoral Fellowship, funded by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation to transform the future of autism research by launching the careers of highly promising graduate students in the field.

Nia’s project will analyze genes in autism, congenital heart disease and genes shared by individuals with both conditions. The goal is to identify CHD genes with shared risk for autism to improve early identification of autism among children with known CHD.