Funding and policy

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Stories about research grants, funding models and the business of science

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Exclusive: Layoffs revoked at U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

After more than a month of uncertainty, 30 previously purged employees at the institute no longer face termination.

By Angie Voyles Askham, Sydney Wyatt
21 May 2025 | 3 min read
Photograph of the BRIDGE team and students visiting a laboratory.

Sharing Africa’s brain data: Q&A with Amadi Ihunwo

These data are “virtually mandatory” to advance neuroscience, says Ihunwo, a co-investigator of the Brain Research International Data Governance & Exchange (BRIDGE) initiative, which seeks to develop a global framework for sharing, using and protecting neuroscience data.

By Lauren Schenkman
20 May 2025 | 6 min read
A researcher stands at the top of a staircase that leads to nowhere.

NIDA shutters diversity fellowship program, axes active awards

It’s unclear if the cancellation at the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse extends to the fellowships awarded by other institutes within the National Institutes of Health.

By Calli McMurray
14 May 2025 | 5 min listen
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Federal funding cuts imperil next generation of autism researchers

As the International Society for Autism Research’s annual meeting begins, its next president reflects on a brewing crisis.

By Brian Boyd
30 April 2025 | 5 min read
A clinician holds a clipboard while someone else sits on a couch.

Expediting clinical trials for profound autism: Q&A with Matthew State

Aligning Research to Impact Autism, a new initiative funded by the Sergey Brin Family Foundation, wants to bring basic science discoveries to the clinic faster.

By Lauren Schenkman
24 April 2025 | 8 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

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Altered excitatory circuits in CHD8-deficient mice; and more

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 25 August.

By Jill Adams
26 August 2025 | 2 min read
Illustration of a brain and screens of computer code.

Should neuroscientists ‘vibe code’?

Researchers are developing software entirely through natural language conversations with advanced large language models. The trend is transforming how research gets done—but it also presents new challenges for evaluating the outcomes.

By Benjamin Dichter
25 August 2025 | 7 min read
Bag of umbilical cord blood.

Why hype for autism stem cell therapies continues despite dead ends

After numerous tests, there is still no evidence that these experimental treatments help, so now is not the time to expand access to them.

By Paul Knoepfler
22 August 2025 | 6 min read

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