Info For:

Diana Schendel, PhD

Professor, A.J. Drexel Autism Institute
Expertise autism public health epidemiology

Schendel is professor at the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute and leads the Research Program in Modifiable Factors in Autism. She can discuss public health issues in autism because her research has included population-level prevalence trends over time and in different countries, and factors underlying the trends, such as changes in age of diagnosis, diagnostic criteria and reporting practices. She has also conducted research to understand the mechanisms contributing to autism and identify opportunities to reduce disability and improve health over the life course.

Her research also focuses on whether genes linked to autism modify the effects of non-genetic risk factors, such as air pollutant exposure or maternal cardiometabolic health during pregnancy, and the interplay between genes and family history in autism risk.

Related from the Drexel News Blog.

Contact

des348@drexel.edu

Media Inquiries

Annie Korp

amk522@drexel.edu 215.571.4244

In The News

Is Autism Really a Male-Dominated Condition? A New Study Suggests Women Have It Just as Often, but Are Diagnosed Later in Life
Feb 19, 2026
An excerpt from a Feb. 4 MedPage Today article quoting Diana Schendel, PhD, a professor in the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, was mentioned in a Feb. 19 Smithsonian magazine article about a new Swedish study suggesting that autism incidence in girls and boys may be nearly equal and highlighting the need to investigate why girls are often diagnosed at an older age than boys.
Autism May Not Be a Male-Dominated Disorder
Feb 9, 2026
Diana Schendel, PhD, a professor in the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, was quoted in a Feb. 9 Medscape article about a new Swedish study suggesting that autism incidence in girls and boys may be nearly equal and highlighting the need to investigate why girls are often diagnosed at an older age than boys.
Autism Incidence in Girls and Boys May Be Nearly Equal, Study Suggests
Feb 4, 2026
Diana Schendel, PhD, a professor in the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, was quoted in a Feb. 4 MedPage Today article about a new Swedish study suggesting that autism incidence in girls and boys may be nearly equal and highlighting the need to investigate why girls are often diagnosed at an older age than boys.
As NIH Launches New Autism Research Effort, The Focus is On Environmental Factors
Oct 3, 2025
Kristen Lyall, ScD, an associate professor, and Diana Schendel, PhD, a professor, both in the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute at the Dornsife School of Public Health, were quoted in an Oct. 3 STAT article about the NIH’s new autism research effort that focuses on environmental factors.
Trump Claims Link Between Autism and Tylenol
Sep 22, 2025
Diana Schendel, PhD, a professor in the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, was quoted in a Sept. 22 Reuters article about what the science tells us about whether acetaminophen or vaccines cause autism.
Autism Is on the Rise: What’s Really Behind the Increase?
May 5, 2025
Diana Schendel, PhD, professor in the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, was quoted in an Aug. 26 Nature article about potential reasons for the recent rise of autism diagnoses.
New Catalog Charts Familial Ties From Autism to 90 Other Conditions
Sep 17, 2024
Diana Schendel, PhD, professor and leader of the Modifiable Risk Factors research program in the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, was quoted in an Oct. 17 The Transmitter article about a new open-source catalog that now identifies associations between autism and family histories of dozens of other conditions.
Drexel Researchers Want to Better Understand Barriers for Screening and Health Care That People With Autism Face
Sep 27, 2022
Diana Robins, PhD, director, and Diana Schendel, PhD, professor and leader of the Modifiable Risk Factors research program, both in the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, were quoted in a Sept. 27 Philadelphia Inquirer article about the Autism Institute’s recent award from the NIH to examine health determinants, health services delivery, health inequity and how it impacts autistic people’s health outcomes.

Related Articles

A family of three shopping for produce The A.J. Drexel Autism Institute Awarded $10 Million for Advancing Equitable Strategies and Reducing Barriers for Autistic Individuals of All Ages
Sep 9, 2022
Drexel University’s A.J. Drexel Autism Institute was awarded a 5-year, $10 million Autism Centers of Excellence (ACE) award from the National Institutes of Health to understand and reduce barriers to good health and health care access for people with autism. The project titled “Public Health and Autism Science advancing Equitable Strategies across the life course” (PHASES) will employ a public health research framework to examine health determinants, health services delivery and health inequity – especially in under-represented diverse populations – and the impact of these forces on autistic people’s health outcomes.

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