Elizabeth Torres Seminar

DATE: Wednesday, April 10, 2019

TIME: 11:30 AM

LOCATION: Room 303 Central King Building

CONTACT: rocha@njit.edu

SPEAKER:
Elizabeth B. Torres, Ph.D.
NJACE

TITLE:
The New Jersey Autism Center of Excellence at the Forefront of Innovation and Science to Advance Medical Treatments and Research of ASD

ABSTRACT:
According to the CDC and the Surveillance networks of autism, the state of NJ has a prevalence among children of school age of 1/32, the highest in the US (1/59). To address this problem at the state level, the NJ Governor’s Council for the Research and Treatments of Autism has created the New Jersey Autism Center of Excellence. The center’s goal is to help lower barriers for researchers and clinicians involved in the development of new methods of treatments of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). To that end, a team at Rutgers University won the five-year hosting of the NJACE in July 2018 using an innovative approach that will likely disrupt old models in favor of new technological advances to address research and treatments of ASD.

As part of the innovative initiatives of the new center, the team is visiting top universities and centers across the state, with the goal of creating a consortium of researchers to develop technology at the service of ASD. From objective outcome measures of treatments to new treatment protocols involving virtual and augmented reality, biomechanics-driven approaches, to new AI and machine learning algorithms to handle Big Data and OMICS research, the NJACE is aiming at creating a strong technical community to pioneer new technology for ASD and to inform insurance companies and legislators of new methodology to push forward the science of autism.

Our visit to NJIT seeks to alert the biomedical community of contemporary unresolved problems and gaps in autism along with Governor’s Council funding opportunities to help us build a strong regional group of engineers, biostatisticians, applied mathematicians and computer scientists willing to bring innovation and technology to autism. We will answer questions concerning our new center and welcome you to join this endeavor.