A team of researchers from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) are among the first 12 sites to join the Innovative Medicine and Precision Approaches to Clinical Trials (IMPACT) Network. The network was established by a five-year grant of up to $17.25 million awarded by Aligning Research to Impact Autism (ARIA).
At CHOP and Penn, the IMPACT Network site will be led by Eric Marsh, MD, PhD, a professor of Neurology and Pediatrics and the co-director of the Orphan Disease Center at CHOP and the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. He also co-directs the CHOP-Penn NIH-funded Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center. Robert Schultz, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Center for Autism Research, and Amanda Bennett, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Autism Integrated Care Team, both from CHOP, round out the leadership team for this program.
Marsh and his team will contribute to a short-term natural history and clinical endpoint study, called the ARIA IMPACT-Ready study, which aims to better understand how autism and related neurodevelopmental conditions develop and change over time. These learnings may help improve future research and support the development of new treatments.
“Our proposal resonated due to our ability to include individuals who are frequently excluded from trials, including nonverbal individuals, those with intellectual disability, epilepsy, and rare genetic conditions,” Marsh said.
By integrating genetics, biomarkers, digital phenotyping, and clinical outcomes, researchers in this study can better identify who a therapy works for and why, which moves the field beyond one-size-fits-all interventions toward more targeted, effective treatments.
Designed to accelerate scientific discovery and create more therapeutic opportunities for people with profound autism and severe neurodevelopmental disabilities, the ARIA initiative connects emerging research, insights, and promising technologies from across scientific fields, building an integrated ecosystem that bridges clinical and translational research.
Joining ARIA’s IMPACT Network further establishes CHOP’s continued commitment to cutting edge research in autism across several programs, including the Center for Autism Research and the Lurie Autism Institute, the latter of which is establishing an ecosystem for autism research across the lifespan at both institutions. These initiatives are aimed at making new discoveries into the genetics of autism while also increasing clinicians’ understanding of complex needs of children and adults with profound autism.
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A team of researchers from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) are among the first 12 sites to join the Innovative Medicine and Precision Approaches to Clinical Trials (IMPACT) Network. The network was established by a five-year grant of up to $17.25 million awarded by Aligning Research to Impact Autism (ARIA).
At CHOP and Penn, the IMPACT Network site will be led by Eric Marsh, MD, PhD, a professor of Neurology and Pediatrics and the co-director of the Orphan Disease Center at CHOP and the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. He also co-directs the CHOP-Penn NIH-funded Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center. Robert Schultz, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Center for Autism Research, and Amanda Bennett, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Autism Integrated Care Team, both from CHOP, round out the leadership team for this program.
Marsh and his team will contribute to a short-term natural history and clinical endpoint study, called the ARIA IMPACT-Ready study, which aims to better understand how autism and related neurodevelopmental conditions develop and change over time. These learnings may help improve future research and support the development of new treatments.
“Our proposal resonated due to our ability to include individuals who are frequently excluded from trials, including nonverbal individuals, those with intellectual disability, epilepsy, and rare genetic conditions,” Marsh said.
By integrating genetics, biomarkers, digital phenotyping, and clinical outcomes, researchers in this study can better identify who a therapy works for and why, which moves the field beyond one-size-fits-all interventions toward more targeted, effective treatments.
Designed to accelerate scientific discovery and create more therapeutic opportunities for people with profound autism and severe neurodevelopmental disabilities, the ARIA initiative connects emerging research, insights, and promising technologies from across scientific fields, building an integrated ecosystem that bridges clinical and translational research.
Joining ARIA’s IMPACT Network further establishes CHOP’s continued commitment to cutting edge research in autism across several programs, including the Center for Autism Research and the Lurie Autism Institute, the latter of which is establishing an ecosystem for autism research across the lifespan at both institutions. These initiatives are aimed at making new discoveries into the genetics of autism while also increasing clinicians’ understanding of complex needs of children and adults with profound autism.
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