Experts from Georgia State University’s Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS) Center will participate in a major study on profound autism, aiming to uncover its causes and develop new treatments. The initiative is funded by a $21.9 million grant from the late Bernie Marcus and The Marcus Foundation, awarded to the Marcus Autism Center, which operates under Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
The five-year project plans to follow 7,500 children from birth through age 12, tracking their development before symptoms arise and throughout treatment. Researchers will examine developmental patterns, behavior, brain activity, and genetics to better understand why some children are more severely affected by autism than others.
The study brings together experts from several institutions: Children’s Behavioral and Mental Health and Neurosciences Research programs, Emory University School of Medicine’s Department of Human Genetics, and the tri-institutional TReNDS Center at Georgia State.
Vince Calhoun, Distinguished University Professor of Psychology at Georgia State and founding director of the TReNDS Center, will lead the project’s NeuroBridge AI Core. This component integrates brain imaging with behavioral and biological data to improve understanding of autism development and responses to treatment.
“This research will take a pragmatic, real-world approach — embedding procedures directly into everyday clinical practice and enrolling a broad range of patients without excluding key groups — so that the predictors we identify are truly actionable where care decisions actually happen,” Calhoun said.
Ami Klin leads the research team as director of the Marcus Autism Center. He explained that multiple aspects of profound autism would be explored with an aim toward developing new therapies.
“The goal is to enable precision medicine interventions that will accelerate learning, make symptoms less severe and improve response to treatment in children with profound autism, and possibly even prevent profound disability from emerging in the first place,” Klin said.
The TReNDS Center—collaborating with Emory University and Georgia Tech—will manage the NeuroBridge AI Core (NAIC). This core serves as a bridge between pediatric neuroimaging expertise at Marcus Autism Center and informatics strengths at TReNDS. It combines large-scale clinical observations with advanced neuroimaging as well as behavioral and genomic data to identify biological pathways linked to treatment outcomes.
“We’re honored to help lead the NAIC. This is a rare chance to pair real-world clinical care with state-of-the-art brain, behavioral and omics measures at unprecedented scale, and to turn those data into actionable predictors that can improve outcomes for children with profound autism and their families,” Calhoun said.
Calhoun’s team will focus on capturing detailed real-world data using advanced tools alongside artificial intelligence methods for analysis. Their work aims to identify biomarkers that could guide individualized clinical decisions for children affected by profound autism.
Donald Hamelberg, vice president for Research and Economic Development at Georgia State University stated: “We’re proud to see our researchers contributing to this work alongside such respected partners. This kind of collaboration moves us closer to real, meaningful impact in our communities.”
Children diagnosed with profound autism often face significant challenges including severe intellectual disabilities or limited ability to speak; many require constant support for daily living tasks. In the United States alone there are over 2.3 million children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder; more than one-quarter—or about 620,000—are classified as having profound autism.
This collaborative effort underscores Georgia State University’s growing role in neuroscience research within Atlanta—a region increasingly recognized for leadership in pediatric neuro-AI initiatives due partly to strong partnerships among local institutions like Emory University and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
Tim Denning, president & CEO of Georgia Research Alliance commented: “The TReNDS Center and the Marcus Autism Center are among the world-class assets that make Georgia a focal point for neuroscience research.” He added: “Georgia State University, Emory University and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta are all vital contributors… These kinds of collaborations are needed more than ever to make progress in human health.”
More information about the TReNDS Center or Georgia State research can be found online.
