New Grant Award to Study Effects of Shank3 Deficiency

The Seaver Autism Center has recently received a grant award from the National Institute of Mental Health to study the effects of Shank3 deficiency. The project will be led by Dr. Joseph Buxbaum, Director of the Seaver Autism Center, and is titled “Prefrontal function in the Shank3-deficient rat: A first rat model for ASD.” The studies that comprise this project will lead to a molecular and systems level understanding of Shank3 function and will identify molecular targets for novel therapeutics in developmental delay and ASD using a first genetically modified rat model for ASD.