The Biobank and its Impact on ASD Research - Coffee Convo JAN 2024

This presentation is part of the Lurie Center for Autism Coffee Convo series.
The Lurie Center for Autism invites you to join Jacob Hooker, PhD, and Natalie Boutin for a presentation and discussion on the role of "biobanks" in autism spectrum disorder. Topics covered will include the goals of biobanking efforts, privacy concerns, and lessons learned from other health conditions. We will also describe the Mass General Brigham Biobank at MGH, which is a large research program designed to help researchers understand how people’s health is affected by their genes, lifestyle, and environment. We will note that despite the size of the program, autism spectrum disorder is massively underrepresented, and this limits what researchers can learn about ASD that will help support individuals with ASD. Finally, we will describe the Lurie Center's efforts to bolster representation of autism in biobanking efforts.