Annette M. Estes is director and Susan and Richard Fade Endowed Chair of the University of Washington Autism Center in Seattle.
![](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Estes170.jpg)
Annette Estes
Director and Susan and Richard Fade Endowed Chair
University of Washington Autism Center
From this contributor
Losing sleep: How researchers miss a key contributor to autism
Doctors and scientists should consider sleep problems an integral part of autism and begin to study them in more rigorous ways.
![Person sleeping with EEG electrodes attached to head](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/20200714-Peixoto844.jpg)
Losing sleep: How researchers miss a key contributor to autism
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New connectomes fly beyond the brain
Researchers are mapping the neurons in Drosophila’s ventral nerve cord, where the central nervous system meets the rest of the body.
![Research image of neurons in the fly’s ventral nerve cord.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/lede-motormodules-1200-1024x692.webp)
New connectomes fly beyond the brain
Researchers are mapping the neurons in Drosophila’s ventral nerve cord, where the central nervous system meets the rest of the body.
Building an autism research registry: Q&A with Tony Charman
A purpose-built database of participants who have shared genomic and behavioral data could give clinical trials a boost, Charman says.
![Illustration of researchers talking to laypeople amidst strands of DNA.](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/1200_Charman-1024x687.webp)
Building an autism research registry: Q&A with Tony Charman
A purpose-built database of participants who have shared genomic and behavioral data could give clinical trials a boost, Charman says.
Cerebellar circuit may convert expected pain relief into real thing
The newly identified circuit taps into the brain’s opioid system to provide a top-down form of pain relief.
![](https://www.thetransmitter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/paincircuit-1200-1024x692.webp)
Cerebellar circuit may convert expected pain relief into real thing
The newly identified circuit taps into the brain’s opioid system to provide a top-down form of pain relief.