Joseph D. Buxbaum | |
---|---|
Alma mater | Touro College Weizmann Institute of Science |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Neuroscience |
Institutions | Rockefeller University Icahn School of Medicine |
Doctoral advisor | Yadin Dudai |
Other academic advisors | Paul Greengard |
Joseph D. Buxbaum is an American molecular and cellular neuroscientist, autism researcher, and the Director of the Seaver Autism Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. [1] Buxbaum is also, along with Simon Baron-Cohen, the co-editor of the BioMed Central journal Molecular Autism , and is a member of the scientific advisory board of the Autism Science Foundation. Buxbaum is a Professor of Psychiatry, Neuroscience, and Genetics and Genomic Sciences. [2] He is also the Vice Chair for Research and for Mentoring in the Department of Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Buxbaum received his BSc in Math and Biology from Touro College (New York, NY) in 1980. In 1983, he received his MSc in Neurobiology from the Weizmann Institute of Science (Rehovot, Israel), where he also received his PhD in Neurobiology in 1988 under Yadin Dudai. Buxbaum completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience at the Rockefeller University (New York, NY) in 1991 in Paul Greengard's group. [3]
Buxbaum's research focuses on using genetic and functional methods to identify and characterize genes and pathways involved in autism, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer disease. His research focuses on common and rare genetic variation in neuropsychiatric disorders and has been an early leader in rare genetic variation in psychiatry. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] With the advent of massively parallel sequencing, this focus on rare variation is now providing profound insights into many neuropsychiatric disorders, including autism, intellectual disability, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and Alzheimer disease.
In Alzheimer disease, Buxbaum has conducted several cell-biological and patient-based analyses of APP and A-beta and he and his group continue to do genetic and functional analyses in Alzheimer disease. [11] [12] [13] [14]
In schizophrenia, Buxbaum and his colleagues pioneered early molecular research into white matter/oligodendrocyte abnormalities, and they continue to examine molecular changes in this disorder using large brain cohorts and animal models. [15] [16] [17]
Buxbaum's research in autism has shown that genetic risk includes rare and common variation as well as de novo and inherited variation. [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] Buxbaum is the founder and co-Principal Investigator of the Autism Sequencing Consortium (ASC), [26] an international group of scientists who share autism samples, data, and ideas in order to accelerate the understanding of the causes and treatments of autism. The ASC is the largest whole-exome sequencing study in autism, with over 22,000 samples analyzed to date.
Buxbaums research also extends into cell and animal models. His group has an extensive functional genomics laboratory using yeast two hybrid, cultured cells, and rodent and other animal models in neuropsychiatric disorders. Functional studies in his laboratory have led to pathway discovery in autism, schizophrenia and Alzheimer disease, to more than a dozen animal models, [27] [28] [29] and to a clinical trial showing preliminary efficacy in patients with a SHANK3 mutation. [30]
Buxbaum has published over 250 peer-reviewed articles [31] that have garnered more than 30,000 citations, with 216 papers having 10 or more citations. [32]
Buxbaum has received numerous awards for his research. He is a Fellow of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) and received both their basic and clinical research awards (the Daniel E. Efron Award, for "outstanding basic research contributions to neuropsychopharmacology" in 2005 and the Joel Elkes International Award, "in recognition of an outstanding clinical contribution to neuropsychopharmacology" in 2010). In 2008, he received recognition from the Eden Institute Foundation for his "commitment and dedication to improving the quality of life in individuals with autism." In 2010, Buxbaum received the Richard D. Todd Memorial Award from the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics for "outstanding contribution to the genetics of child psychiatry." He has been recognized by the NYU Child Study Center (2004), the UC Davis/MIND Institute (2011), and the Autism Spectrum News (2014 Leadership Award [33] ) for his work on the causes and treatment of ASD. Buxbaum received departmental and school-wide awards from Touro College for his BSc, the Wolf Prize and recognition from the Israeli government for his PhD, the James A. Shannon Director's Award from the NIH when he began as an independent faculty member, and the Dean's Award for Excellence in Translational Science from Mount Sinai. In 2015, Buxbaum was elected into the National Academy of Medicine, formerly the Institute of Medicine. [34]
The heritability of autism is the proportion of differences in expression of autism that can be explained by genetic variation; if the heritability of a condition is high, then the condition is considered to be primarily genetic. Autism has a strong genetic basis. Although the genetics of autism are complex, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is explained more by multigene effects than by rare mutations with large effects.
Many causes of autism, including environmental and genetic factors, have been recognized or proposed, but understanding of the theory of causation of autism is incomplete. Attempts have been made to incorporate the known genetic and environmental causes into a comprehensive causative framework. ASD is a neurodevelopmental disorder marked by impairments in communicative ability and social interaction and restricted/repetitive behaviors, interests, or activities not suitable for the individual's developmental stage. The severity of symptoms and functional impairment vary between individuals.
Fox-1 homolog A, also known as ataxin 2-binding protein 1 (A2BP1) or hexaribonucleotide-binding protein 1 (HRNBP1) or RNA binding protein, fox-1 homolog (Rbfox1), is a protein that in humans is encoded by the RBFOX1 gene.
Kenneth L. Davis is the executive vice chairperson of the board of trustees at the Mount Sinai Health System in New York City, and an American author and medical researcher who developed the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale, the most widely used tool to test the efficacy of treatments for Alzheimer's disease designed specifically to evaluate the severity of cognitive and noncognitive behavioral dysfunctions characteristic to persons with Alzheimer's disease. His research led to four of the first five FDA-approved drugs for Alzheimer's.
Neurogenomics is the study of how the genome of an organism influences the development and function of its nervous system. This field intends to unite functional genomics and neurobiology in order to understand the nervous system as a whole from a genomic perspective.
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The Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai conducts research studies and provides care to children and adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The Seaver Autism Center works to understand the biological causes of ASD and to develop treatments, as well as provide education and training opportunities.
The imprinted brain hypothesis is an unsubstantiated hypothesis in evolutionary psychology regarding the causes of autism spectrum and schizophrenia spectrum disorders, first presented by Bernard Crespi and Christopher Badcock in 2008. It claims that certain autistic and schizotypal traits are opposites, and that this implies the etiology of the two conditions must be at odds.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) refers to a variety of conditions typically identified by challenges with social skills, communication, speech, and repetitive sensory-motor behaviors. The 11th International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), released in January 2021, characterizes ASD by the associated deficits in the ability to initiate and sustain two-way social communication and restricted or repetitive behavior unusual for the individual's age or situation. Although linked with early childhood, the symptoms can appear later as well. Symptoms can be detected before the age of two and experienced practitioners can give a reliable diagnosis by that age. However, official diagnosis may not occur until much older, even well into adulthood. There is a large degree of variation in how much support a person with ASD needs in day-to-day life. This can be classified by a further diagnosis of ASD level 1, level 2, or level 3. Of these, ASD level 3 describes people requiring very substantial support and who experience more severe symptoms. ASD-related deficits in nonverbal and verbal social skills can result in impediments in personal, family, social, educational, and occupational situations. This disorder tends to have a strong correlation with genetics along with other factors. More research is identifying ways in which epigenetics is linked to autism. Epigenetics generally refers to the ways in which chromatin structure is altered to affect gene expression. Mechanisms such as cytosine regulation and post-translational modifications of histones. Of the 215 genes contributing, to some extent in ASD, 42 have been found to be involved in epigenetic modification of gene expression. Some examples of ASD signs are specific or repeated behaviors, enhanced sensitivity to materials, being upset by changes in routine, appearing to show reduced interest in others, avoiding eye contact and limitations in social situations, as well as verbal communication. When social interaction becomes more important, some whose condition might have been overlooked suffer social and other exclusion and are more likely to have coexisting mental and physical conditions. Long-term problems include difficulties in daily living such as managing schedules, hypersensitivities, initiating and sustaining relationships, and maintaining jobs.
Pamela Sklar was an American psychiatrist and neuroscientist. She was Chair of the Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences and professor of psychiatry, neuroscience, and genetic and genomic sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She was also chief of the Division of Psychiatric Genomics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Sklar is known for her large-scale gene discovery studies in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia and for making some of the first statistically meaningful gene identifications in both mental illnesses.
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Alison Mary Goate is a professor of neuroscience and Director of the Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City. She was previously professor of genetics in psychiatry, professor of genetics, and professor of neurology at Washington University School of Medicine.
Evdokia Anagnostou is a professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Toronto, and is cross-appointed as pediatric neurologist and a senior clinician scientist at the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital in Toronto, Canada. She is a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Translational Therapeutics in Autism Spectrum Disorder.
The Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC) is an international consortium of scientists dedicated to conducting meta- and mega-analyses of genomic-wide genetic data, with a focus on psychiatric disorders. It is the largest psychiatric consortium ever created, including over 800 researchers from 38 countries as of 2019. Its goal is to generate information about the genetics of psychiatric conditions that will be "actionable", that is, "genetic findings whose biological implications can be used to improve diagnosis, develop rational therapeutics, and craft mechanistic approaches to primary prevention". The consortium makes the main findings from its research freely available for use by other researchers.
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