Common Variant Genetics of Autism and Autistic Traits (GWAS) Consortium (360G-Wellcome-214322_Z_18_Z)

£3,182,054

Autism is a life-long developmental condition with a prevalence of approximately 1%, and heritability estimates of between 64-92%. It is polygenic, with variants across the frequency spectrum (from rare to common) contributing to risk. Considerable progress has been made in identifying rare variants in autism, but the largest genome-wide association study (GWAS) of autism (18,000 cases, 28,000 controls) identified only five loci associated with autism, compared to 179 in schizophrenia (40,000 cases, 65,000 controls). Polygenic scores account for 2.45% of the variance in autism, despite 30-50% of the variance in risk for autism being attributable to common variants, suggesting many more common variants remain to be found. Additionally, autistic traits are normally distributed in the general population, but there is no well-powered GWAS of autistic traits. The proposed research aims to accelerate the discovery of common, low frequency, and copy number variants in autism and autistic traits. Specifically, we will: (1) Establish a UK-wide Autism Biobank (N = 10,000 cases), with links to electronic health records and who can be recalled by genotype; (2) Conduct a GWAS of autism in 100K cases from around the world; and (3) Conduct a GWAS of autistic traits in the population in 250K individuals

Where is this data from?

This data was originally published by The Wellcome Trust. If you see something about your organisation or the funding it has received on this page that doesn't look right you can submit a grantee amendment request. You can hover over codes from standard codelists to see the user-friendly name provided by 360Giving.

Grant Details

Amount Awarded 3182054
Applicant Surname Baron-Cohen
Approval Committee Science Interview Panel
Award Date 2018-11-27T00:00:00+00:00
Financial Year 2018/19
Grant Programme: Title Collaborative Award in Science
Internal ID 214322/Z/18/Z
Lead Applicant Prof Simon Baron-Cohen
Other Applicant(s) Prof Daniel Geschwind, Prof David Rowitch, Prof Matthew Hurles
Partnership Value 3182054
Planned Dates: End Date 2025-01-15T00:00:00+00:00
Planned Dates: Start Date 2019-01-15T00:00:00+00:00
Recipient Org: Country United Kingdom
Region East of England