Join us for one of our upcoming events! We host a variety of programming opportunities for researchers, families, and trainees (e.g., undergraduate and graduate students, post-docs, staff) each semester.
On October 16th, 2025 the fair lights will shine a little less, and the sounds will be more quiet. This will happen from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM when the South Carolina State Fair hosts a Sensory Friendly Morning on Exceptional Citizens Day at the Fair. Children and adults with autism and other sensory processing disabilities are invited to enter the fair up to one hour before the gates officially open at 11:00 am
South Carolina State Museum
Join us at the South Carolina State Museum on November 8th! We'll be there with information on recruiting studies, brain health, and more AND we are the spotlight accessibility partner of the month!
More details to come!
Riverbanks Botanical Garden
The SCAND symposium is a free research conference that provides an opportunity for researchers across the state to learn about science targeting autism and neurodevelopmental disorders within South Carolina.
More details, including keynote speakers and abstract submission guidelines, coming soon!
We host 3 weekly science meetings each month for CAN Research Center members (faculty, undergraduate and graduate students, staff). The goal of these meetings is to share and update each other on research progress -- including new findings, new or upcoming grant submissions, and a space to discuss research obstacles and successes.
All meetings are held virtually from 8:30-9:15am. Email can@sc.edu to learn more and attend!
Overview of CLINTRUSC grant submission
Pre-term infants and autism
Misophonia grant submission
Motor Development link to Autism - A Complex Issue
Science Communication Corner
Emotion regulation, meltdowns, and adapted interventions
CAN we help the mitochondria?
Overview of current projects involving AI research
Sensory Impairments and Anxiety in Autistic Preschoolers
Immune cell mediated neural repair
SFARI Rat Consortium
CAN Pilot Grant update
R01 submission: natural history of social communication in autism, GRIN2B, and SCN2A
Overview of current projects
The CAN Research Center invites eminent scholars in autism and neurodevelopmental disorders to share their research with the USC community.
Dr. Haydar is CAN's Visiting Scholar for Fall 2025. He wil be visiting September 17-18, 2025 from Boston University. Please see below for Dr. Haydar's schedule of events:
9.17 | 12:00-1:15 pm | Lunch with trainees | CLS 403
9.17 | 3:00-4:00 pm | Seminar “Mechanisms of early cortical development impacting the etiology of intellectual disabilities” | Walsh Conference Room in Barnwell College
9.18 | 9:00-10:00 am | Breakfast with School of Medicine trainees | SOM D27
Dr. Broder-Fingert will join us March 23-24, 2026 from the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School. Stay tuned for more details on Dr. Broder-Fingert's schedule and events!
"Cultural Tailoring of Autism Interventions for Latino Families"
Sandra Magaña, PhD
Professor in Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities, University of Texas at Austin
Executive Director, Texas Center for Disability Studies, UT Austin
"Molecular Convergence of Two High-Risk Autism Genes in the Control of Dendritic Excitability"
Paul Jenkins, PhD
Associate Professor in Pharmacology and Psychiatry, University of Michigan
"Rethinking Treatment Studies in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities"
Leonard Abbeduto, PhD
Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California--Davis
Director, UC Davis MIND Institute
"Women and Girls on the Autism Spectrum: Recent Findings and New Directions"
Christine Wu Nordahl, PhD
Director, Autism Phenome Project
Beneto Foundation Endowed Chair, MIND Institute
Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California--Davis
"APP Gene Dose Induced Disruption of the Endosomal Rab Cascade Linked to Degenerative Phenotypes in Down Syndrome"
Bill Mobley, MD, PhD
Distinguished Professor of Neurology, University of California San Diego
"Epistasis and the Genetics Architecture of Quantitative Traits: Lessons From Drosophila"
Trudy Mackay, Ph.D.
"Social-Communication Biomarkers: Quantification and Qualification for Clinical Trial Improvement"
Sara Jane Webb, Ph.D.
Professor, University of Washington and Seattle Children's Research Institute
Associate Director and Director of Clinical Translational Core of UW's Eunice Kennedy Shriver Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center
South Carolina Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorder Consortium annual retreat
Hosted by CAN Research Center. Invited speakers including:
"Early Detection of Autism"
Diana Robins, Ph.D.
Director and Professor, A.J. Drexel Autism Institute., Drexel University
"Increasing Access to Parent-Mediated Interventions for Autism in the Community: Project ImPACT as a Case Example"
Brooke Ingersoll, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Director of the MSU Autism Lab, Department of Psychology, Michigan State University
"mRNA Transport, Local Translation & Neurological Disease"
Gary J. Bassell, Ph.D.
"Measuring Anxiety in Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder"
Lawrence Scahill, Ph.D.
"Neurobiologically-Grounded Signatures of Autism in Infants"
Kristina Denisova, Ph.D.
"Effect of early-life immune activation on the ontogeny of learning: Importance for
understanding the etiology of neurodevelopmental disorders"
Jaclyn M. Schwarz, Ph.D.
"Hiding in Plain Sight? A Deeper Look at Females on the Autism Spectrum"
Clare Harrop, Ph.D.
Progress in Biomarker Development in Autism
James McPartland, Ph.D.
Understanding (and Supporting) Autistic Girls Through Multi-Method Quantitative Phenotyping
Julia Parish-Morris, Ph.D.
Catch Me If You Can: Novel Mechanisms of Social Functioning and Intervention in Youth
with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Matthew D. Lerner, Ph.D.
Unraveling Mechanisms of Social Deficits in Autism Spectrum Disorders
Dr. Katrina Choe
Dimensions and Taxons: Catalyzing a New Frontier in Autism Research
Jed Elison, Ph.D.
Bridging the Gap from Genes to Behavior in Autism Spectrum Disorders
Dr. Benjamin Auerbach
Getting Answers from Babies About Autism
Mayada Elsabbagh, Ph.D.
Astrocyte-Neuron Communication During Synapse Development for Health and Disease
Dr. Isabella Farhy-Tselnicke
Translating EEG Biomarkers in Autism and Fragile X Syndrome: From Mice to Microstates
to Minocycline
Lauren Etheridge, Ph.D.
Local Protein Synthesis During Neural Development: implications for Health and Disease
Dr. Kristy Welshhans