Our Mission
Accelerate scientific discovery to create more therapeutic opportunities for people with profound autism and people on the spectrum who seek additional support.
Bringing Biomedical Sectors Together
Our Vision
A research and clinical care system working in concert to deliver therapies for autistic people.
Generating Knowledge, Accelerating Treatment Options
ARIA will complement existing science research efforts, support new research initiatives, and harness promising science to enable development of new therapies and treatments that address unmet needs in areas like language, communication, and mood.
Better understand co-occurring conditions.
Autism is complex and often co-occurs with epilepsy, mood, attentional conditions, and other symptoms such as sleeping and eating difficulties. For many autistic people and their families, addressing these co-occurring conditions is a priority. People with profound autism often cut across diagnostic boundaries, sitting at the intersection of autism and related neurodevelopmental conditions.
Foster connections and networks.
Building a dedicated clinical trials research infrastructure that brings together researchers and clinicians across diagnostic boundaries will accelerate the development, testing, and scaling of the most promising therapies.
Identify new opportunities.
We are at an inflection point with many technologies. We can leverage recent advances in biochemistry, bioinformatics, computational modeling, and neuromodulation, and rigorously test a myriad of promising approaches before moving them into the clinical trials research pipeline.
Expanding Possibilities for Autistic People
Our work will benefit people across the spectrum, including autistic people who do not rely on speech alone to communicate, who require significant assistance in daily life, and who currently have the most limited options for care. Working closely with multidisciplinary groups of leading scientists, clinicians, and people with lived experience, we can reimagine what’s possible.
The Road to ARIA
Under the leadership of the Coalition for Aligning Science, we engaged more than 200 multidisciplinary experts to determine how philanthropy can impact and align the diverse and dynamic research fields of autism and neurodevelopment, inform our research roadmap, and thoughtfully guide future investments in scientific discovery.
Leadership & Advisors
The ARIA leadership team has extensive experience starting and leading large-scale research initiatives that support rigorous evidenced-based science.
We have convened a diverse group of experts from across scientific fields to shape ARIA’s research efforts.
Our coordinating council will lead and guide ARIA's Research Hubs.
Our community advisory committee will advise ARIA's approach to community engagement.
Ekemini A. U. Riley, PhD
Managing Director
Sonya Dumanis, PhD
Deputy Director
Matthew State, MD, PhD
Chief Scientific Advisor
Susanne Ahmari, MD, PhD
Scientific Advisory Board
Erika Augustine, MD, MS
Scientific Advisory Board
Paola Arlotta, PhD
Human Developmental Neurobiology Co-Lead
Jill Escher
Community Advisory Committee
Jennifer Foss-Feig, PhD
Community Advisory Committee
Murat Günel, MD
Lead PI, Neurosensing and Neuromodulation Co-Lead
Raquel Gur, MD, PhD
Scientific Advisory Board
Alycia Halladay, PhD
Community Collaborator, Community Advisory Committee
Shafali Jeste, MD
Clinical Coordinating Center Co-Lead, Community Advisory Committtee
Kristy Johnson, PhD
Functional Communication Co-Lead
Nevan Krogan, PhD
Protein-Protein Interactions Co-Lead
Andrew Krystal, MD
Neurosensing and Neuromodulation Co-Lead
John Krystal, MD
Scientific Advisory Board
Brian Litt, MD
Scientific Advisory Board
Dan Lowenstein, MD
Scientific Advisory Board
Rob Malenka, MD, PhD
Scientific Advisory Board
John Ngai, PhD, Federal Liaison
Scientific Advisory Board
Mustafa Sahin, MD, PhD
Clinical Coordinating Center Co-Lead
Stephan Sanders, BMBS, PhD
Genetic Medicines Co-Lead
Nenad Sestan, MD, PhD
Human Developmental Neurobiology Co-Lead
Alison Singer, MBA
Scientific Advisory Board
Sarah Spence, MD, PhD
Scientific Advisory Board
John Spiro, PhD
Scientific Advisory Board
Meghan Swanson, PhD
Functional Communication Co-Lead
Judith Ursitti
Community Advisory Committee
Sophia Vinogradov, MD
Scientific Advisory Board
John Young, PhD
Protein-Protein Interactions Co-Lead
Timothy Yu, PhD
Genetic Medicines Co-Lead