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01/24/2002
With the courtesy of UC Davis Health System - Thanks to Martha J. Alcott
San Diego, Calif., November 8, 2001 -- Autism experts around the world will establish the first and only scientific organization dedicated to researching autism spectrum disorders, marking perhaps one of the most significant steps in the quest to unravel this puzzling disorder. The society will be organized at the inaugural International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR) conference being held Nov. 9 and 10 at the San Diego Convention Center.
The scientific community's newest society, the International Society for Autism Research (ISAR) will formalize its charter and elect its first president during the two-day autism research conference being held Nov. 9 and 10. Organizers of the society foresee ISAR as a major stimulus in attaining the highest quality interdisciplinary research on autism spectrum disorders by fostering collaboration among scientists and healthcare professionals.
"Those of us who have focused our research efforts on autism spectrum disorders have not had the benefit of sharing and discussing our findings with each other in a forum dedicated to this disorder," said Sally Rogers, an autism expert and a psychologist at the University of Colorado School of Medicine's Department of Psychiatry who is one of the founders of ISAR. "We absolutely must have a dialog to keep research, not only moving forward, but also to a much higher level."
The new society will support international research through the sharing of information, findings and new ideas. Organizers anticipated that once the society is formalized this weekend, members will immediately work to establish a scientific journal for publication of peer-reviewed research as well as an annual scientific meeting and a regular newsletter.
Pending a vote of the founding members, membership will likely be limited to scientists and researchers who hold graduate degrees from accredited universities and who have either authored a peer-reviewed journal article related to autism, have extramural funding to carry out research related to autism or have other scientific credentials that can be submitted to the membership committee for review.
More information about the IMFAR conference can be viewed at IMFAR's virtual newsroom at www.newswise.com/vpr/mtg2001.ucm.html.
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