About: SFARI Scientific Perspectives

The SFARI science team is often asked some version of the question, “What kind of science is SFARI likely to support in its requests for applications?” The goal of this perspective piece is to be as transparent as possible about the criteria we use to make funding decisions. The following six basic principles serve as useful guideposts.

Within the larger autism research funding ecosystem, which includes federal and other foundation funders as well as biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, SFARI’s focus is on basic science research. We view basic science as foundational research aimed at elucidating the underlying mechanisms of biology, behavior, health and illness. The basic science SFARI supports includes studies in human populations as well as research in other experimental systems. It includes research across multiple levels of analysis, from genetic to cell-biological to neural circuits, cognition and behavior. In focusing on basic science research, we are motivated by the belief that these discoveries create the rigorous scientific knowledge base that is required for subsequent translational efforts aimed at improving the lives of individuals with autism and their families. As such, in making funding decisions, we consider not only the quality and rigor of the science proposed, but also the relevance of the science to autism and related neurodevelopmental conditions.

Although our updated mission statement reaffirms our commitment to basic science, we want to emphasize that we very much welcome applications from researchers working with humans with autism. We also welcome applications from researchers working in non-human model systems, recognizing that a diversity of model systems must be used to gain an understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying autism. In evaluating the autism-relevance of proposals using non-human experimental models, we consider the extent to which proposed experiments and hypotheses are grounded in the human condition. Towards this end, we encourage applicants working in model systems to: 1) educate themselves about the clinical manifestation and human experience of autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders, including learning about known genetic and non-genetic etiologies; and 2) address the utility and the limitations of their model system to the questions being studied in the proposal.

SFARI was an early adopter of open science. We built SFARI Base to share extensive genetic and phenotypic data from our first autism cohort, the Simons Simplex Collection (SSC), with the global autism research community. The impact of making standardized, accessible data available immediately has led SFARI to invest significantly in open science infrastructure, both at the Simons Foundation and within grant-funded projects, whose data must be shared with the research community in a timely and accessible way.

Accordingly, in addition to assessing the quality and relevance of the proposed science, we place significant weight on the data sharing plans in SFARI applications, specifically their adherence to the FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable) principles of data management and stewardship. We are also interested in projects that generate data suitable for subsequent AI-based analysis.

SFARI is deeply committed to producing rigorous, reproducible data that are readily shared with the scientific community. In support of this important issue, SFARI has created a list of methodological and statistical considerations for potential SFARI grant applicants. We weigh adherence to these guidelines strongly in evaluating grant applications.

To facilitate and accelerate autism research, SFARI invests in building research-ready resources, from biospecimens to autism cohorts to datasets to experimental models relevant to autism. We prioritize research projects that not only leverage these resources but that also enrich them by sharing any resulting data and research reagents with SFARI for use by the broader research community. As such, we recommend that applicants familiarize themselves with the portfolio of SFARI-generated resources.

As a privately endowed foundation, we value our ability to support visionary, high-impact, high-risk autism research (including research projects that may take years to come to fruition) and to make nimble, strategic and informed decisions as research projects progress. SFARI is also committed to collaboration with others in the autism research funding ecosystem, aiming for alignment, synergy and non-duplication of research efforts. As such, in evaluating grant proposals, we consider whether the proposed project is something that may be more suitable for funding from other sources.

In addition to asking about the general principles that guide SFARI’s grant making, many researchers want to know more about the “type of science” we are interested in. At its launch in 2006, SFARI focused its efforts on the genetics of autism given the high heritability of autism and the emergence of powerful new tools and technologies in human genetics. More than 200 genes now have strong evidence implicating them as risk factors for autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders. These genetic variants have provided powerful toeholds for investigating the neurobiological mechanisms underlying autism and have set the stage for the development of gene therapies for affected individuals.

SFARI remains committed to studies that clarify the genetic architecture of autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders and that use autism-associated genetic variants in experimental models. Just as importantly, we encourage proposals that take other scientific approaches to advancing our understanding of autism. For current funding opportunities, visit the funding page of SFARI.org and sign up for the SFARI newsletter here.