UMass Amherst Scientist Studying Origins, Risk Factors Of Autism Wins $3 Million Grant
AMHERST (CBS) -- A researcher at UMass Amherst who is studying the origins and risk factors of autism has just been awarded millions of dollars to aid his work.
Youssef Oulhote, who is an assistant professor in the School of Public Health and Health Sciences, received the five-year, $3 million "Outstanding New Environmental Scientist" grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
UMass said the epidemiologist will focus on "the interplay of early life exposure to environmental pollutants, the folate system during pregnancy and genetic susceptibility in the onset of autistic behaviors."
"We have multiple parts of the puzzle," Oulhote said in a statement. "We want to put them together and add things that we don't know yet."
According to the announcement, exposure to chemicals found in common household products has already been associated with autistic traits in young boys. Oulhote and his team will look at possible impacts from exposure to other chemicals like air pollutants, ultra-fine particles and pesticides.
The goal is to come up with "better prevention strategies for autism spectrum disorder."
"We want to gain a better understanding of how strongly multiple pollutants and the folate system are associated with autistic traits, whether these chemicals are associated with circulating folate concentrations, and how these effects of multiple pollutants differ based on folic acid intake, genetic susceptibility and the presence folate autoantibodies," Oulhote said.
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