| Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative | |
| Headquarters: | New York City |
| Status: | private organization |
| Founders: | James Simons, Marilyn Simons |
| Founded: | 2003 |
| Leader Name: | Kelsey Martin |
| Leader Title: | Director |
| Services: | Research |
The Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative, or SFARI for short, is a research program established in 2005 by the Simons Foundation, which focuses on all aspects of autism research. Its director is Kelsey Martin.[1] The organization has funded more than $200 million in autism research to 150 different investigators since 2007.[2] The awards they give out include Bridge to Independence Awards (for early-careers researchers transitioning to independent positions),[3] Pilot Awards (for innovative high-impact proposals for experiments still in the preliminary stages), Research Awards (for research into a topic which has already been investigated at least preliminarily), and Explorer Awards (which provides grants for focused experiments on a one-time basis).[4] One specific type of research they specialize in is mouse models of autism, which they are trying to make more available in cooperation with the Jackson Laboratory.[5]
SFARI Gene is an integrative model with a publicly available web portal for the ongoing collection, curation and visualization of genes linked to autism disorders. The content originates entirely from the published scientific literature. SFARI Gene also provides a comprehensive collection of animal models linked to autism.[6] The Simons Simplex Collection is a sample gathered by SFARI from over 2000 families for identifying de novo genetic variants that contribute to the overall risk of autism.[7]
In 2016, SFARI launched Simons Foundation Powering Autism Research (SPARK), an online research initiative designed to become the largest autism study ever undertaken in the United States. For researchers, SPARK provides a large, well-characterized cohort of genetic, medical and behavioral data, and will result in cost-savings for researchers by reducing start-up costs for individual studies.[8]
In 2008, SFARI launched Spectrum, an Autism research news website, as the "News & Opinion" section of the SFARI website.[9] In the summer of 2015, Spectrum was spun off of SFARI as an independent online news entity.