Drexel Researchers Explore Role of Environmental Influences on Autism as Part of Multi-Million Dollar NIH Effort

Drexel Research Supported by Multi-million Dollar NIH Effort

As screening and understanding of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) grows, a new national initiative tapping Drexel expertise aims to yield new insights for many of the 1 in 45 adults and 1 in 35 children in the United States living with autism. The role that both genetic factors, as well as environmental influences, play in development of autism are the focus of a new $50 million Autism Data Science Initiative (ADSI) from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Drexel researchers with expertise studying the intersection of these exposures will be among those leading the new effort.

The initiative, which had over 250 applications, funds 13 studies seeking new insights into our understanding of autism, with emphasis on the role that the exposome — the complex interplay of environmental exposures, such as air pollution, radiation, infections, socioeconomic status and others — may play in development of autism.

One of the projects, led by Kristen Lyall, ScD, an associate professor in the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute and chair at the Dornsife School of Public Health, looks at the role diet plays in autism's development. Nutrition, including fish and folic acid intake, has been associated with reductions in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) risk among offspring, and growing data suggests certain nutrients may lessen the effects of other environmental exposures that may contribute to autism.

"We have the opportunity to capitalize on large data sets to get insights into how diet may interact with other environmental factors in relationship to autism and other neurodevelopmental outcomes," said Lyall, who is principal investigator on the two-year, $2-million grant. "We're planning to examine whether specific nutrients during pregnancy may mitigate environmental exposure effects on neurodevelopment, but also, to examine biologic pathways underlying these associations, and consider how child diet may continue to influence health and behaviors."

The project will use existing data from up to 10,000 mother-child participants from the NIH's Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) consortium, consisting of more than 60 groups looking at child health starting before birth through adulthood. The research team will use metabolomics data, going down to the molecular and cellular level, from prenatal measurements, to capture the biological effects of exposures. This data will be used to find pathways between these factors and autism and build evidence for mechanisms that underlie these associations.

The research team will also explore how aspects of diet can influence environmental, medical and lifestyle factors that may increase risk of autism and related behaviors. Using these large data sets will help the team explore whether children with autism on average experience worse nutrition than those without autism, and whether differences in diet make autism more severe, or raise the risk of other related symptoms. Better understanding of the role of diet will lead to opportunities for interventions with the potential to reduce risks and improve the lives of autistic individuals.

In addition to Lyall, the grant team includes other Drexel researchers from the Dornsife School of Public Health and AJ Drexel Autism Institute, including Philip Smith, PhD, Tara McAlexander, PhD, and Brian Lee, PhD, a professor in the Dornsife School of Public Health, and postdoctoral fellow Marisa Patti, PhD, in addition to a broader team of experts from across additional universities. More information on the study is available here: "Diet and the Exposome in Autism: Discovering Complex Interactions with Diet in Autism Etiology And Variability" (grant 1OT2OD040445-01).

In another grant, principal investigator Lindsay Shea, DrPH, leader of the Policy, Analytics and Community research program in the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute will collaborate with colleagues at the University of North Carolina, where the study is based, as well as researchers at two additional NIH Autism Center of Excellence sites. In contrast with most of the body of knowledge up to this point that looked at young adults only, this funding will study adults across the adult lifespan and across the full spectrum of autism. Together, they seek to fill a void by focusing on older populations: identifying intervention and service targets to promote improved quality of life, including improved mental health outcomes and community participation. The work is a collaboration with a 20-person community advisory board, drawing from the perspectives of autistic adults, family members and caregivers, researchers, clinicians and those providing services for adults with autism.

"Efforts to use large data sources to understand and address the need of older adults are timely and needed," said Shea. "This grant supports a multidisciplinary team to leverage data to quickly advance our work to inform changes to policies and programs that support autistic adults in mid- and later life across the full autism spectrum experiencing a variety of support needs."

The team will use detailed data from the NIMH Data Archive (NDA) on 1,400 autistic adults nationwide and the Simons Powering Autism Research (SPARK) dataset, including long-term data on 400 autistic adults and machine learning to find greatest areas of needs for autistic adults and what drives individuals to utilize these services. Then the team will identify long-term outcomes for specific services to seek out which program and policy interventions are most successful in improving quality of life for adults with autism.

In addition to Shea, other principal investigators on this award are Laura Klinger, PhD, from The University of North Carolina and Greg Wallace, PhD, from The George Washington University. More information on the study is available here: "From Data to Action: Capturing Meaningful Outcomes in Autism Through Harmonized Data" (grant 1OT2OD040528).

In a third grant, Brian Lee, PhD, will serve as a co-investigator on a study based at the University of California, San Diego, in which researchers will investigate interactions between genes and their environment to learn more about what influences autism risk in 2.7 million individuals. Better understanding of these pathways will help inform future prevention and personalized intervention efforts for those with autism. The study's principal investigator is Jonathan Sebat, PhD, a professor at University of California, San Diego. More information on the study is available here: "Elucidating the Interplay of Genes and Environment in Autism Using Genomic and Exposure Data from Large Populations" (grant 1OT2OD040415). As with any university-issued institutional news on National Institutes of Health-funded research, the content in this news release does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.