Simon Baron-Cohen University of Cambridge
Is a Professor of Developmental Psychopathology at the University of Cambridge, Fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge, and Director of the University’s Autism Research Centre (ARC). He is regarded as a world-renowned autism expert, making countless research contributions in the field, which include proposing the ‘theory of mind’ (ToM) hypothesis of autism and the development of different tools and assessments for people with autism. For over 25 years his interests has spanned across different topics, ranging from social behavior to biomedical causes of autism. Baron-Cohen has published over 400 scientific articles and is the author of several books, including those written for parents and teachers. He has also produced interactive DVD’s to help children with autism improve their emotion-recognition skills. Baron-Cohen is currently the Vice President of the National Autistic Society and co-editor in chief of the journal Molecular Autism.
Speaker at Autism in Motion March 22, 2015.
Jonathan Green University of Manchester
Is a Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at The University of Manchester and an Honorary Consultant Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist. He runs a Social Development Clinic at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, assessing and treating children with autism and social development impairments. He serves on the Editorial and Advisory Boards of the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, Advances in Psychiatric Treatment and the European Journal of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Green is also a member of the Commissioning Board for the NIHR Health Technology Assessment program. His research focuses on clinical trials of theoretically driven interventions for child mental health, which aims to identify useful clinical interventions for practice and also to investigate basic science questions.
Past Speaker at the 2014 Donald Cohen Lectureship and the Pre-School Autism Communication Therapy (PACT) Workshop
Vikram Patel London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Is a Professor and Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (U.K.). He is the Joint Director of the School's Centre for Global Mental Health. He is also a Professor at the Public Health Foundation of India. Patel serves on the WHO's Expert Advisory Group for Mental Health and the Global Agenda Council for Chronic Conditions and Mental Health and is co-chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Grand Challenges in Global Mental Health. He serves on the board of Sangath, an Indian NGO, which he founded. He was editor of the Lancet Series on Global Mental Health (2007) and the PLoS Medicine series on packages of care for mental disorders (2009) and led the efforts to launch the Movement for Global Mental Health. He is based in India where he leads a program of mental health research and capacity development.
Speaker at the 2015 Donald Cohen Lectureship April 15, 2015 , Global Innovation for Mental Health April 14, 2015 and Global is Local: What Will it Take to Advance Community-Based Mental Health Globally? April 14, 2015
Connie Kasari UCLA
Is Professor of Psychological Studies in Education and Psychiatry at UCLA, where she is the Principal Investigator for the Autism Intervention Research Network for Behavioral Health. Kasari is a founding member of the Center for Autism Research and Treatment at UCLA and has been actively involved in autism research for the past 25 years. Her current research focuses on developing targeted interventions for early social communication development in at risk infants, toddlers and preschoolers with autism, and peer relationships for school aged children with autism. She has published widely on topics related to social, emotional, and communication development and intervention in autism.
Speaker at Engaging Autism in Community Settings August 27, 2015.
Catherine Lord Weil-Cornell
Is a licensed clinical psychologist, Professor in the Weil-Cornell Psychiatry department, and founding Director of the Center for Autism and The developing Brain (CADB) . Lord is renowned for her work in longitudinal studies involving children with autism as well as for her role in developing autism diagnostic instruments used in both practice and research worldwide. In collaboration with colleagues from the United Kingdom and the United States she was involved in the development of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) and the Autism Diagnostic Interview – Revised (ADI-R), now considered the gold standard of standardized diagnostic instruments for research all over the world.
Speaker at Treatment Development and Outcome in Autism April 7, 2015 and Gold-Standard Diagnosis in Diverse and Multicultural Settings April 8, 2015
Michael McCreary Aspie Comic
Is a young comic who was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome at the age of five and is realizing his dream of becoming a stand-up comedian. Michael participated in a Donald Cohen Series fundraiser as part of their national roadshow. During his cross-country tour, Michael interviewed families across Canada, highlighting their stories of positive experiences and messages of hope to help change the stereotype of autism. Michael and his family are now working on a documentary to create a better understanding of autism by showing the diversity within the spectrum and to help create a united voice for families affected by autism.
Past presenter at the Launch of the 2014-2015 Donald Cohen Series with Special Comedy Event
Pat Mirenda University of British Columbia
Is a Professor in the Department of Educational & Counseling Psychology and Special Education. She is the Director of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research and Collaboration in Autism (CIRCA) at the University of British Columbia. Mirenda is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and a Fellow of both the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA) and the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC). She is co-author of the 4th edition of Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC): Supporting children and adults and complex communication needs (2013) and co-editor of Autism spectrum disorders and AAC (2009). Her current research examines the developmental trajectories of children with autism and their families, starting at the time of diagnosis; and the services and supports provided to bilingual children with developmental disabilities.
Past Speaker
Stephen Scherer Sick Kids Hospital
Is a Senior Scientist and Director of the Centre for Applied Genomics at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. He is best known for contributing to the discovering of copy number variations (CNVs) of genes and DNA as the most abundant type of genetic variation in the human genome. He has transformed the understanding of human genetic variation and its role in disorders like autism. Scherer founded the Database of Genomic Variants, the world’s most utilized CNV database, which facilitates thousands of clinical diagnoses everyday and has led to numerous discoveries defining the genes involved in autism. He is the Director of the McLaughlin Centre, at The University of Toronto and a Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research.
Speaker at Translating Genomic Science into Personalized Medicine June 12, 2015
Peter Szatmari McMaster University
Is an international expert in autism and Chief of the Child and Youth Mental Health Collaborative at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Szatmari has made significant contributions to the field, including diagnosis, measurement and longitudinal development, which have led to significant improvements in recognizing high functioning forms of autism, including Asperger Syndrome. He was a co-leader of the Autism Genome Project, which involved 175 scientists from around the world and reported the first evidence of the burden of rare genetic variants in autism. He has consulted the US, UK and Canadian governments on research regarding autism, and is the Principal Investigator of the Pathways project, the largest longitudinal study of its kind that investigates the different developmental pathways in children with autism.
Past Speaker