Uploaded April 2023 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Dr. Judy Van de Water shares updates about emerging research on gestational influences on the etiology of autism.
Free certificates of participation are available upon successful completion of a brief knowledge quiz at autism.org/gestational-influences-2023
Judy Van de Water, PhD, joined the faculty in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of California, Davis in 1999. In 2000, she also joined the faculty of the newly formed UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute when she began her research on the immunobiology of autism. Dr. Van de Water’s laboratory pursues research programs pertaining to autoimmune and clinical immune-based disorders including the biological aspects of autism spectrum disorders. The application of Dr. Van de Water’s immunopathology background has been instrumental in the dissection of the immune anomalies noted in some individuals with autism, and in the differentiation of various autism behavioral phenotypes at a biological level. Most notable of these is the investigation of the maternal immune system as it relates to autism spectrum disorders, with particular emphasis on the presence of highly specific maternal autoantibodies to fetal brain proteins. Dr. Van de Water’s seminal work in this area has led to a highly specific biomarker of autism risk as well as three patents leading to the commercialization of this technology. Dr. Van de Water is currently the Director of the NIEHS funded Center for Children’s Environmental Health at UC Davis, investigating potential environmental risk factors contributing to the incidence and severity of childhood autism.
00:00 - Intro
1:02 – Potential etiologies of autism
3:03 – Maternal Immune Activation Model
5:30 – Research sample characteristics
7:40 – Study: Maternal prenatal cytokines
11:05 – Study: Newborn immune markers
15:06 – Study: Effect of sex on newborn immune system profile
17:30 – Maternal autoantibody related autism subtype (MARA)
19:25 – Target proteins and brain development
20:46 – Study: MAR antibody test
24:26 – Study: Early markers of autism – prenatal validation
27:40 – MAR antibody patterns phenotypes
29:30 – Summary of clinical findings
31:03 – Study: Translational animal model
34:15 – Rodent model findings
38:40 – Conclusions
41:55 – Q & A
Dr. Judy Van de Water shares updates about emerging research on gestational influences on the etiology of autism.
Free certificates of participation are available upon successful completion of a brief knowledge quiz at autism.org/gestational-influences-2023
Judy Van de Water, PhD, joined the faculty in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of California, Davis in 1999. In 2000, she also joined the faculty of the newly formed UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute when she began her research on the immunobiology of autism. Dr. Van de Water’s laboratory pursues research programs pertaining to autoimmune and clinical immune-based disorders including the biological aspects of autism spectrum disorders. The application of Dr. Van de Water’s immunopathology background has been instrumental in the dissection of the immune anomalies noted in some individuals with autism, and in the differentiation of various autism behavioral phenotypes at a biological level. Most notable of these is the investigation of the maternal immune system as it relates to autism spectrum disorders, with particular emphasis on the presence of highly specific maternal autoantibodies to fetal brain proteins. Dr. Van de Water’s seminal work in this area has led to a highly specific biomarker of autism risk as well as three patents leading to the commercialization of this technology. Dr. Van de Water is currently the Director of the NIEHS funded Center for Children’s Environmental Health at UC Davis, investigating potential environmental risk factors contributing to the incidence and severity of childhood autism.
00:00 - Intro
1:02 – Potential etiologies of autism
3:03 – Maternal Immune Activation Model
5:30 – Research sample characteristics
7:40 – Study: Maternal prenatal cytokines
11:05 – Study: Newborn immune markers
15:06 – Study: Effect of sex on newborn immune system profile
17:30 – Maternal autoantibody related autism subtype (MARA)
19:25 – Target proteins and brain development
20:46 – Study: MAR antibody test
24:26 – Study: Early markers of autism – prenatal validation
27:40 – MAR antibody patterns phenotypes
29:30 – Summary of clinical findings
31:03 – Study: Translational animal model
34:15 – Rodent model findings
38:40 – Conclusions
41:55 – Q & A
