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NIH director highlights autism data science initiative; cautions on complexity of causes
Summary
NIH director Jay Bhattacharya described an 'autism data science initiative' that funds teams to study prevalence, causes and treatments. He emphasized autism is biologically complex, likely involving genetic vulnerabilities plus environmental factors, and warned research takes time.
Jay Bhattacharya, identified in the briefing as the NIH director, described ongoing NIH work on autism and said the agency has funded more than a dozen research teams through an 'autism data science initiative.' "It's a complicated biological phenomenon. It's not going to be a simple answer," he said, and he urged patience for the research process.
Bhattacharya said NIH scientists are investigating a range of plausible hypotheses and will not preclude any legitimate avenue of inquiry, including environmental factors and possible interactions with genetic predispositions. He said the initiative has been working for over a year and that results will emerge as studies are completed.
