Autism Research Institute Webinar

Immunological Factors, Genes, and the Environment in Autism: 

from Research to Treatment 

Saturday, June 01, 2013 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM (Pacific Time)

Join us for this live, half-day meeting to learn insight into research and current trials that point to the potential benefit of medical treatments to address environmentally-triggered impairments associated with autism spectrum disorders. Physicians, other healthcare professionals and parents are invited to attend.

Topics Include:

• Environmental Risk Factors in the Development of ASD - Pamela Lein, Ph.D.
• Biomarkers, Immune-Mediated Disorders and Autism - Judy Van de Water, Ph.D.
• Current Medical Treatment Trials for Autism - Reymundo Lozano, MD, Ph.D.
• Panel Roundtable Discussion with audience Q&A

Free, online preregistration is required for both online and in-person attendees. Continuing medical education (CME) for medical professionals and general Continuing Education Units (CEU) are available for non-medical professionals for a processing fee. Presentations will be videotaped and uploaded for public viewing at a later date. 

About the Presenters:

Judy Van de Water, PhD: Dr. Van de Water joined the faculty of the M.I.N.D. (Medical Investigations of Neurodevelopmental Disorders) Institute in 2000, when she began her research on the immunobiology of autism. She has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health for more than fifteen years, and is currently part of the NIEHS-funded Center for Children’s Environmental Health as the principal investigator of the Immunological Susceptibility in Autism project. She is also part of a project funded by NIMH to examine for early biomarkers in the plasma of mothers whose children have autism. 

Pamela Lein, Ph.D., is a Professor at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in the Department of Molecular Biosciences. Dr. Lein received her Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo and her MSEH from East Tennessee State University. She has previously held faculty appointments at Oregon Health and Science University and at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her areas of interest include cell and molecular mechanisms of developmental neurotoxicology, gene environment interactions that influence susceptibility to neurodevelopmental disorders, and the role of the autonomic nervous system in environmentally-induced asthma and cardiovascular disease.

Reymundo Lozano, M.D., Ph.D. Dr. Lozano is a Pediatric Geneticist, who has dedicated his research to better understanding the molecular basis of genetic disorders associated with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). He is an International Medical Graduate from Mexico and completed his subspecialty studies at UCLA. He specializes in the treatment of neurodevelopmental genetic syndromes including fragile X syndrome (FXS), Angelman syndrome, 15q duplication syndrome, 22q11 microdeletion syndrome, and Noonan syndrome and other RASopathies. His work focuses on different clinical trials for ASD and FXS. Dr. Lozano is dedicated to finding better treatments and eventually the cure for neurodevelopmental disorders. He is also studying the phenotypic variability of fragile X premutation carries and the additive effects of other “genetic hits” and environmental exposures. He pursues the genetic diagnosis of ASD, using cutting edge technology, including microarrays, mitochondrial function and whole exome sequencing.   Dr. Lozano is an advocate for minority participation in clinical trials and his goal is to provide the necessary information to enhance enrollment and retention of minority participants. He is involved in identifying the linguistic and systemic barriers to early diagnosis and intervention commonly found in Hispanic children with ID and ASD. He is also interested in increasing diversity among medical students and faculty members at UC Davis.  

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To access the CDR Library catalog, please click on this link.