Autism Tissue Program was a subset of research programs in biological psychiatry. It is an effort to study individual cases with the purpose of discovering markers that will eventually be used for screening newborns and diagnosing autism. As such it was categorized as a “predictive analytics” research program.
Autism Tissue Program had these scientific research goals:
- To develop meta-analysis protocols and procedures for monitoring autism research.
- To develop a data resource center in support of autism research.
- Allow development of aggregated dataset from multiple scientific sources
- Collect annual grants from Johns Hopkins University (from 2012-2014). The goal was to screen and diagnose individuals for autism based on DNA collected from their brain tissue samples.
- To promote collaborative autism research among multiple institutions by accepting donated human brain tissue for scientific purposes.
- To streamline the process of collecting, processing, and distributing high-quality postmortem tissue to researchers in the attempt to accelerate progress in the understanding of autism and its related disorders through collaboration.
The scientific articles produced by Autism Tissue Program had been published in scientific journals such as JAMA Psychiatry (2013) and The New England Journal of Medicine (2014).
Later, Autism Tissue Program had joined Autism BrainNet program, which is still active and is a collaborative project among researchers at multiple academic, medical and research institutions worldwide.
The Autism BrainNet program is funded by philanthropists who have contributed millions of dollars to the cause. In 2017, Autism BrainNet had received $10 million donation from both David M. Rubenstein and Laura H. Carnell foundations with hopes that it will “bring scientists closer to uncovering the causes of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and developing effective therapies for its associated symptoms”. Autism BrainNet had collected thousands of brain tissue samples from individuals diagnosed with autism or suspected to have some kind of neurological disorder. It has compiled a large amount of data regarding genes responsible for autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
In 2021 July, Autism Tissue Program was acquired by Nootropics Frontline and will merge their scientific research operations in one company.
Nootropics Frontline is a biotechnology company with a mission to revolutionize the neuroenhancement market with cutting-edge technology. Currently, Nootropics Frontline is manufacturing and distributing nootropic reference materials for analytical and research purposes. Scientific research is one of the most important pillars upon which Nootropics Frontline was built.
The company had set its sights on neuroenhancement, a topic that has been gaining more popularity in recent years due to its enormous commercial potential. Nootropics Frontline has been on a mission to revolutionize the neuroenhancement industry since its humble beginnings.
The company’s product pipeline seeks to fill a gap in the nootropics market and is focused on advanced scientific research. Nootropics Frontline also collaborates with academic institutions and government agencies to design, develop, and distribute reference materials for research programs in drug discovery.
Thus, Nootropics Frontline has partnered with AutismTissueProgram.org to acquire the dataset of the company produced in research programs, which is believed to be a valuable addition to the portfolio of the company.
