Dear Friends of the Duke Center for Autism,

As we conclude the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development’s 10th anniversary year, we have much to celebrate. With your partnership, we continue to significant strides in research, mentoring early-career professionals, and addressing the needs of autistic individuals and their families through clinical services, community partnerships, and policy advocacy.

In 2024, our ground-breaking research discoveries were published in prestigious journals such as Nature Communications, eClinical Medicine, the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Autism Research. Our researchers talked about important breakthroughs on podcasts hosted by the Journal of the American Medical Association and European Medical Journal Reviews. And we were especially pleased that two publications from research supported by our Autism Center of Excellence were selected among the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee’s Top Research Advances of 2023.

Beyond the academic world, our team has been active in community conversations and featured on blogs such as Today’s Parent, podcasts including the ABCs of Disability Planning, and in national and local print media and local TV and radio stations.

The center’s work has an impact here in North Carolina and across the globe. We welcomed Dr. Temple Grandin to Duke University’s campus, enjoyed our third Baseball Bonanza, and extended our partnership with Durham’s Carolina Theatre for a second season of sensory-friendly films. The Neurodiversity Working Group, led by our faculty and staff, developed training and resources to support neurodiversity-affirming practices in healthcare, education, and career development at Duke and in the Durham community.

Finally, I would like to extend tremendous gratitude to Dr. Geraldine Dawson founding director of the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development, for her tireless efforts in establishing and building the center and advancing its mission over the last 10 years. In 2024, Dr. Dawson stepped back from the director role but remains actively involved as the primary investigator of the Duke Autism Center of Excellence program of research.

Our team is excited to share these wonderful stories with you in this year’s Impact Report. None of this would be possible without our relationships with each of you, our research participants and families, community partners, funding agencies, donors, board members, and neurodivergent individuals.

With gratitude,

Lauren Franz, MBChB, MPH

Interim Director, Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development