Center News

US Congress Passes Autism CARES Act of 2024

We at the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development applaud the US House of Representatives passing the Autism CARES Act of 2024.

This important legislation will reauthorize and expand critical services and support research initiatives that benefit the autism community, including the NIH Autism Centers of Excellence program. The bill now heads to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.

View the 2024 Holiday Art Gallery

Congratulations to Blake Henkel, a 32-year-old artist with autism, whose artwork "Chillin' Friends" was selected to illustrate our 2024 holiday greeting card.

View the full gallery of artwork submitted by artists of all ages.

Leveraging the Duke Autism Center of Excellence Award: Training Grants Support Faculty with Research Career Development and Study Funding

In 2024, three grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality supported faculty members in their research career development.

Alexandra Bey, MD, PhD; Matthew Engelhard, MD, PhD; and Danai Fannin, PhD, CCC-SLP, are leveraging the NIH-funded Duke Autism Center of Excellence grant to conduct their own related research studies.

Employee Spotlight: Sam Brandsen

Originally trained as a physicist with a focus on quantum information theory, Dr. Sam Brandsen brings a new perspective and fresh ideas to research here at the Center for Autism. Sam completed his Ph.D. in Physics here at Duke University in 2021, but during his studies, he became increasingly interested in autism research. As an autistic individual and parent to an autistic child, Sam is especially interested in understanding quality of life in autistic individuals and learning ways to help improve the well-being of autistic individuals across the lifespan.