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UPCOMING EVENTS:

2nd annual Brains for Autism 5K race to be held at White Rock Lake on Dec. 6th! Registration and all details on the race will be available in the fall.

Also, Debra Caudy to run 26 miles for Brains! Debra Caudy, MD, our cofounder, will be running the NY Marathon in November to benefit Brains for Autism. To sponsor Dr. Caudy, click here.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

1. Brains for Autism has reached the goal of funding a $3,000,000 Endowed Scholar Program at UTSouthwestern. In June, Brains for Autism fulfilled their pledge of $750,000 to UTSouthwestern. This amount was then matched by additional funding through Southwestern to reach the $3,000,000 amount required to fund the scholar in the area of Autism Research. This program will guarantee the recruitment of a leading investigator in Autism research every 4 years indefinitely. We are proud of our efforts and also very excited about the prospect to fund additional Autism research at UTSouthwestern. We graciously thank our numerous supporters who have helped us meet our goal.
   
   
2. A second Endowed Scholar Program has recently been funded at UTSouthwestern  in the area of Autism research. Thanks to the generosity and hard work of all of the supporters of Brains for Autism,  a total of $6,000,000 has been contributed to the dedicated effort of researchers at UTSouthwestern to better understand, treat and one day, prevent Autism Spectrum Disease.
   
   
3. The Crystal Charity Ball League of Dallas has agreed to donate $1,400,000 to help fund a Comprehensive Clinical and Research Autism Resource Center at UTSouthwestern. After meeting with UTSouthwestern officials and Brains for Autism cofounder Debra Caudy, MD, the CCB League was enthusiastic in joining the fight to find a cure.
   
   The Center will be a multi-institutional collaberation between UTSouthwestern, UT Dallas Callier Center, UT Dallas Center for Brain Health and Children's Medical Center. This program will help to integrate direct patient care with research findings and studies. This center will help to serve the estimated 4000 children and their families in Dallas who are affected by Autism Spectrum Disease.
   
   
4. Brains for Autism Inaugural 5K Race a Huge Success!
   On December 1st, 2007 Brains held it's inaugural 5k race at White Rock Lake attracting more than 800 ambitious runners and walkers. Between entry fees and donations, Brains for Autism raised over $25,000! See upcoming events for the date of our 2nd annual race.

DALLAS - Nov. XX, 2006 - Drs. Deborah Caudy and Clay Heighten of Dallas have pledged $750,000 to UT Southwestern Medical Center to help initiate a new Endowed Scholars Program to support research in Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Another $750,000 will be raised through individual gifts, and that $1.5 million will be matched by an anonymous donor to create a $3 million endowment to enable the medical center to recruit a series of new researchers working on autism.

Drs. Caudy and Heighten - both of whom were clinical resident trainees at UT Southwestern - have an autistic 8-year-old son, Jon, and are committed to furthering research and treatment of the disorder. Dr. Caudy also is a former UT Southwestern faculty member, having served as a clinical assistant professor in internal medicine and an oncologist in the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center from 2000 to 2002.

"There are many unknowns about autism," said Dr. Caudy, who left the medical center to care for Jon full time. "One gaping hole is the lack of intensity in basic research into the disorder.

"There's no better place to go for that kind of basic research than UT Southwestern," she said. "UT Southwestern has the right tools, the expertise and the ability to recruit new talent in the field of autism research."

Drs. Caudy and Heighten also recently set up a nonprofit organization, designated "BRAINS," with the mission to raise funds for autism research at the medical center. "BRAINS" is an acronym for "Benefiting Research for Autism Investigators Now at UT Southwestern."

UT Southwestern's acclaimed Endowed Scholars Program in Biomedical Science, established in 1998 with $60 million in philanthropic funds, was designed to enable the institution to recruit and launch the careers of five highly trained basic science faculty members each year.

A new parallel effort, the Endowed Scholars Program in Clinical Science, will recruit young investigators who concentrate on clinically related research to the campus. It is a key component of UT Southwestern's $500 million Innovations in Medicine fundraising campaign.

The new Endowed Scholars Program in Autism Spectrum Disorders will provide start-up research support for four years.

"UT Southwestern is a world-renowned institution," said Dr. Heighten, who specializes in internal medicine and is president of MedicalEdge Healthcare Group. "We feel it's the best place to accomplish our goal for autism."

UT Southwestern hosted the North Texas Autism Summit on Nov. 11, featuring presentations by national and local experts in autism research and treatment. Announcement of the Endowed Scholars Program, whose base is intended to be the first step toward the establishment of a Comprehensive Clinical and Research Center in Autism Spectrum Disorders at UT Southwestern, was made at a Nov. 10 reception.

Autism, the result of a neurological disorder affecting development in the areas of social interaction and communication skills, is a complex disability. It typically manifests in childhood, and four times as many males as females are affected.

"Autism is a devastating condition that develops in roughly 1 percent of the population," said Dr. Eric Nestler, chairman of psychiatry at UT Southwestern and holder of the Lou and Ellen McGinley Distinguished Chair in Psychiatric Research. "The toll it takes on individuals and their families is enormous, yet we still know relatively little about what causes autism, and treatments remain very limited.

"Our recent Autism Summit marks the first gifts given to UT Southwestern to support autism research," he said. "Our goal is to expand clinical and research efforts in autism at the medical center, which will span multiple departments and range from a new autism treatment clinic in collaboration with Children's Medical Center, to clinical research in autism, to fundamental research into the neurobiological and genetic causes of this illness."

Dr. Kern Wildenthal, president of UT Southwestern, praised Drs. Caudy and Heighten for their dedication to autism research. "Deborah Caudy and Clay Heighten have experienced the disturbing effects of autism firsthand and realize the profound need for more research into the causes of this disorder and ways to help treat children who suffer from it," he said. "We are extremely grateful for their support, and look forward to beginning to make inroads into learning more about autism and how best to combat it."

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About UT Southwestern UT Southwestern Medical Center, one of the premier medical centers in the nation, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. Its more than 1,400 full-time faculty members - including four active Nobel Prize winners, more than any other medical school in the world - are responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and are committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide medical care in 40 specialties to nearly 89,000 hospitalized patients and oversee 2.1 million outpatient visits a year.