Affymetrix Technology Selected for World's Most Comprehensive Genetic Study on Autism

Complete the form below to unlock access to ALL audio articles.
Affymetrix Inc. has announced that the Autism Consortium has selected the single Affymetrix GeneChip® Human Mapping 500K Array for the world's most comprehensive study on the genes associated with autism.
The Autism Gene Discovery Project will be conducted by scientific experts from the Autism Consortium and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.
The researchers will use the 500K Array to perform whole-genome association studies across 3,700 samples collected from autistic subjects.
"We are extremely enthusiastic about the potential of this effort to increase our understanding of the root causes of autism, which we hope will unlock new avenues for developing treatments and preventives," said Mark Daly, Ph.D., associate member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.
The Boston-based consortium is also collaborating with scientists at Johns Hopkins University, who are in the third year of an autism study using the 500K to scan 600 families.
The two groups will be combining their data to avoid duplication of efforts and accelerate disease-gene discovery.
The Hopkins study is led by Aravinda Chakravarti, Ph.D., and is funded through the National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health.
"One only has to look at how far genetic discoveries have gone in driving the development of promising new therapies for other inherited diseases, e.g. Alzheimer's disease, to see that we cannot afford to wait any longer to do the same for autism," said Rudy Tanzi, Ph.D., a member of the Autism Consortium and professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School.
"We need to identify the genes underlying autism as soon as possible and then begin translating those findings into innovative treatments."
"It is critical to analyze thousands of samples in order to identify genetic variations associated with complex diseases such as autism," said Tom Willis, Ph.D., vice president, DNA Marketing at Affymetrix.
"The Affymetrix 500K is making these studies possible today by enabling researchers to study both genotypes and copy number polymorphisms across this population, all at an affordable price."