Autism is one of the key areas of interest of members within the Science Faculty’s Brain and Behavioural Sciences Discipline. These colleagues have been working collaboratively towards a better understanding of autism. Research carried out by these investigators is multidisciplinary, and ranges from assessing the genetic and environmental influences on autism and autistic traits (Dr Rosa Hoekstra), exploring cognitive phenotypes of autism (cognition and behaviour) (Dr Ilona Roth, Dr Rosa Hoekstra and Ed Sucksmith), investigating structural (cellular and pathological) changes affecting the brain (Dr Payam Rezaie and Dr Paul Gabbott), and functional brain imaging (Prof Stephen Swithenby). These studies attempt to link variability in genetic, cellular and molecular processes, with cognitive and behavioural outcomes in autism, leading to a better understanding of the heterogeneity inherent within the autism spectrum. Please follow the links provided below to learn more about specific areas of research.
Key Research Areas
• Refining the Autism Phenotype
• The Cognitive Phenotype in Autism
• Special Interests in People with Autism and their Relatives
• Examining the Neuropathology of Autism
• Functional Architecture of the Cerebral Cortex in Autism
• Magnetoencephalographic (MEG) Studies in Autism
These efforts are part of an extended portfolio of autism-related activities undertaken at the OU, which include:
• hosting the first national (UK) conference on Autism Research, sponsored by the Medical Research Council, the Wellcome Trust and other organisations in 2007 (organised by Drs Roth and Rezaie);
• developing a highly successful undergraduate module in 2009 (SK124 Understanding the Autism Spectrum) that has seen over 1,100 students enrol each year, following its first presentation (developed by Drs Roth, Hoekstra and Whatson); in Autumn 2012, the Scottish Government agreed to allocate £50,000 annually for the years 2012-2015, to provide free places for around 550 students in Scotland on SK124. This gives the module a key role within a wider initiative to promote the Scottish Government’s autism strategy; announcing the initiative, Michael Matheson MSP, Minister of Public Health, emphasised the role of education and training in increasing understanding of autism and providing support for those who work with and care for people on the autism spectrum;
• an OU/Jessica Kingsley co-publication, “The Autism Spectrum in the 21st Century” by these colleagues (co-authored by Drs Roth, Hoekstra and Whatson) in 2010, which was highly commended in the Popular Medicine category of the 2011 Medical Book Awards of the British Medical Association;
• publication of an authoritative textbook “Researching the Autism Spectrum: Contemporary Perspectives” by Cambridge University Press in 2011 (edited by Drs Roth and Rezaie), featuring contributions from leading investigators in the field of autism research, which has received positive reviews from both the British and the American Journals of Psychiatry;
• work recently funded by Autism Speaks which aims to raise awareness of autism in Ethiopia (led by Dr Rosa Hoekstra together with other colleagues from the OU and Addis Ababa University);
• keynote presentations, media programmes, and publications in international peer-reviewed journals (please click on the profile pages of individual researchers below, for further information)
Research Highlights and Press Releases
National conference on autism research hosted by the OU
Organisation of the cerebral cortex in autism
Link between autism and IT-rich regions
Autism and Intellectual Disability
Autism Speaks funded research project in Ethiopia
Raising Awareness of Autism in Africa
Dr Bethlehem Tekola who is working on the HEAT+ project ‘Raising Awareness of Autism in Africa’ led by Dr Rosa Hoekstra, is pictured here with a rural health extension worker in Ethiopia. OU colleagues Dr Basiro Davey (HEAT Deputy Director) and Lesley-Anne Long (HEAT director) are co-investigators on this Autism Speaks-funded project, and Dr Ilona Roth is providing expert autism input into mental health enhancements of the programme. For further information on Health Education and Training (HEAT) in Africa, see HEAT Programme. Photograph taken by Dr Ilona Roth.
Autism Researchers in the Brain & Behavioural Sciences Discipline
Dr Paul Gabbott
Dr Rosa Hoekstra
Dr Payam Rezaie
Dr Ilona Roth
Prof. Stephen Swithenby
Dr Bethlehem Tekola
Ed Sucksmith
Dejene Nigussie (PhD student on HEAT+ project)