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Accelerating autism research

One in 68 children in the United States is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, which is characterized by a wide range of challenges related to communication, social skills and repetitive behaviors. North Carolina’s autism rate is above the national average with about 65,000 people diagnosed with the condition.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has long been one of the world’s premier autism research universities, taking on the disorder from every angle — genetics, developmental, biomedical and cognitive. Currently, nearly 100 faculty members, students and postdoctoral researchers from 32 departments within five schools work on autism-related research.

To accelerate the creation of more effective treatments and interventions for the millions of people with autism spectrum disorder, the University launched the UNC Autism Research Center last year.

Learn more about the UNC Autism Research Center

A young boy plays with figurines.

Now we have the opportunity to collaborate like never before, to devise and fund research projects with an unprecedented breadth of expertise to further the autism field and help people here in North Carolina.

Joseph Piven, autism researcher

Joseph Piven.

By the Numbers

    Making progress and improving lives

    Impactful research

    • Researcher looks at imaging of brain.

      Predicting autism

      University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers and colleagues linked infant brain anatomy differences to autism diagnoses at age two. Now they show differences in functional connections between brain regions at 6 months to predict autism at age two.

    • Austin Ludwig and Mason Ludwig play at a desk.

      Brotherly love, no matter what

      Austin Ludwig, whose little brother has autism, is now helping researchers sequence genomes of 50,000 people with autism through an ambitious research project in collaboration with the UNC TEACCH Autism Program.

    • Accelerating Autism Discoveries

      As the No. 1 public university in the nation for peer-reviewed autism research, Carolina strives to improve the lives of children and adults with autism spectrum disorder.