Research themes from the 2026 Bridging Autism: Science & Community conference. These represent active research directions, not established clinical recommendations.
Developing personalized intervention strategies using microbiome analysis, metabolomics, and neuroimaging. Dr. June Kong's team at Harvard Medical School is advancing this field with over 70 peer-reviewed publications.
Gene modulation approaches for genetic neurodevelopmental disorders, including gene editing and gene expression regulation technologies. Dr. Xin Tang's Interventional Neurogenomics Laboratory at BCH is pushing this frontier.
Research on the relationship between autism and cognitive function, including differential diagnosis with schizophrenia-related conditions. Dr. William Stone at BIDMC has published over 260 research papers in this area.
Advanced neuroimaging techniques to study brain developmental characteristics in autism. Professor Patricia Ellen Grant leads the Fetal-Neonatal Neuroimaging Center at Boston Children's Hospital.
Neuroimaging and AI-based neurodiversity research, and pioneering neurodiversity advocacy at Harvard University. Dr. Walid Yassin translates research findings into workplace inclusion practices.
Research on autism in relation to work environments and environmental factors. Professor Thomas Gassert brings over three decades of occupational and environmental medicine expertise from Harvard Chan School.