Autism Research Program

People

Chindo Hicks, PhD, Principle Investigator
Assistant Professor, Statistical Genomics, Bioinformatics & Genetics
Department of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology
Department of Surgery
Loyola University Medical Center
2160 S. First Ave
Maywood, IL 60153
Phone: 708-327-9070
e-mail: chhicks@lumc.edu

Group Members
Alexander Tchourbanov, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Research Associate
John Del Greco, Ph.D. Visiting Professor
George Steinhardt BS, Programmer Analyst

Students
Ms. Jacqueline Khorasanee, Research Assistant
Ms. Rozana Asfour, Research Assistant

Former Postdocs and Students
Dr. Yufang Yin, Postdoc
Mr. Nickolas Gundrum, RA

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a major public health problem in the world. The prevalence rate in the United States is estimated at 1 out of every 160 children, depending on the subpopulation. ASD are neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by differences in three core domains of functioning: social behavior, communication abilities, and restricted, repetitive or stereotyped patterns of behavior. While major inroads are being made in screening and clinical diagnosis, the genetic basis of autism remains poorly understood, making risk assessment required for primary prevention and identification of targets for early therapeutic intervention very difficult. The Loyola University Medical Center Autism Research Program under the direction of Dr. Chindo Hicks is undertaking a comprehensive multiple-faceted research approach geared to dissect the genetic basis of ASD to identify biomarkers and targets for early therapeutic intervention. Our research on ASD focuses on three research streams:

• Characterization of Genetic and Phenotypic Variations in ASD: Our research on this project focuses on analysis of high-throughput genotype data and integrating it with family and clinical information to characterize genomic and phenotypic variation in ASD.
• Biomarker Discovery and Function Genomics: Our research on this project focuses on functional genomics involving high-dimensional data sets including genotype, gene expression, proteomics, metabolomics and other “omics” data along with genomic and protein sequence data to identify biomarkers associated with autism. We are taking a functional genomic approach to elucidate the impact of single nucleotide polymorphisms, copy number variants, micro inserts and deletions, de novo mutations and alternative splicing on protein coding and non-coding genes.
• Pathway Prediction and Modeling Gene and Protein Regulatory Networks: Our research on this project focuses on integrating high-throughput genotype data with gene expression data along with functional information to identify potential causal pathways and to correlate genomic information with clinical phenotypes.

To facilitate biomarker discovery and identification of targets for early therapeutic intervention, we have created the Autism Candidate Gene Map (ACGMAP) Database. Our long-term goal is to create a comprehensive well annotated Autism Genome Atlas (AGA) currently under development, which will serve as an ASD reference map. Our collaborating partners include: the Midwest Autism Center of Excellence, Children’s Memorial Hospital at Chicago, the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange, the Psychiatric Genetic Consortium, and The MIND Institute in Sacramento.