The Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI) is opening applications for a series of workshops focused on the genetics of autism. While researchers know genetics plays a primary role in autism, many of the underlying variants are still poorly understood. This initiative aims to address that gap by bringing together experts to apply new statistical, genomic, and artificial intelligence tools to the problem.
The workshop series covers three specific areas of focus. These include developing new ways to interpret variants of uncertain significance, using computational methods to map novel autism-associated variants across both coding and non-coding regions, and utilizing long-read DNA sequencing data to uncover hidden genetic and epigenetic factors like structural variants and repeat expansions.
Participants will first engage in three separate virtual workshops held via Zoom. The initial sessions are scheduled for December 1, 2, and 3, 2026. These meetings will be followed by a combined in-person workshop held at the Simons Foundation headquarters in New York City on February 25 and 26, 2027.
Interested researchers should submit a biosketch and a 1- to 2-page statement of interest by September 15, 2026. Applications must describe how the researcher's work connects to the goals of the project and what specific perspectives they offer. While this series serves as the start of a potential funded collaboration, the foundation notes that participation does not guarantee future funding or selection for follow-up projects.