The incoming director of the Lurie Autism Institute sees the future of autism research in genetics, AI, and data science.
Eric Morrow, a psychiatrist and scientist at Brown University in Rhode Island, was named Wednesday the founding director of the institute, a partnership between Penn Medicine and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. It was established last year with a $50 million gift from billionaire Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and his family.
Morrow, who starts in the role in September, runs a biology laboratory and works with families to research the genetic causes of developmental disabilities.
He is interested in the underlying causes of autism, its genetic subtypes, and helping people with autism at all ages.
“The formation of this institute is a generational opportunity,” Morrow said.
The Inquirer spoke with Morrow about the future of autism research and his hopes for the institute in a conversation lightly edited for length and clarity.
What excites you about the state of autism research today?
There have been 20 years of progress in genetics that I think can help families who have a genetic underlying cause for their autism.
A child with autism can go and get a genetic test. Some subset — it’s hard to quantify exactly — between 10 and 25% will probably get a result that is informative to the underlying cause.
At the scientific level, it provides a subtyping for autism that can help scientists who want to develop molecular therapies or even gene therapies. There are clear paths now to pursue for those, particularly in the field of profound autism.
Data science and artificial intelligence are also bringing new opportunities. I have a lot of hope that, between really rich data on patients participating in research at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the Penn medical school, we will be able to discern new subtypes.
Why is it important to research subtypes of autism?
There are so many different experiences, and there are going to be so many different underlying causes.
Subtypes might be important descriptors that could personalize a particular path, whether it be treatment or educational or vocational.
What are the key challenges in autism that you hope to address?
There’s a lot we don’t understand in terms of the underlying causes and mechanisms. A really important question is: In what ways does the brain develop differently in a person who subsequently garners the diagnosis of autism?
Another area of interest will be communication. Particularly for people who are nonspeaking, are there ways to enhance communication?
A major challenge for children diagnosed with autism is how to enhance their functionality and learning, and how to really capitalize on their strengths and help them develop in a healthy way.
There’s a challenging transition from childhood to adulthood, and helping people get jobs and function in their jobs is a place where maybe we can bring in AI to help.
Is there anything you hope this new institute does differently?
Drawing more people into the field.
CHOP and Penn have distinctive excellence in the study of mitochondria, which is a sub-compartment within the cell that plays a very important role in brain development.
I’m really looking forward to bringing together some of those people and saying, ‘What are the challenges that are associated with autism that might have an underlying mechanism related to mitochondria? What’s the best path toward potential therapeutics?’
I want the Lurie Autism Institute to be known around the globe as a place where families can come to participate in research, and a place where families know there’s a large scientific community working across disciplines to address important scientific problems.
What is the focus of your research?
I do research related to genetic causes of autism.
The idea is to try to understand how brain development associated with those genetic changes is different and might be underlying some of the challenges that the children experience in their language, cognition, and social interaction.
The subtype of autism that is mostly the focus of my work are those children and adults who have lower cognitive abilities with very high support needs. This has been termed profound autism.
Do you have a personal connection to this work?
My lifelong career focus has been those families who have loved ones with long-term, full-time support needs, who need lifelong care. There were a number of very significant individuals in my life who that was true for.
I always found it puzzling that so little was understood, and that there wasn’t as much that could be offered.
There were other conditions like diabetes, where there was a greater understanding about what the cause was and what the treatment was.
I’ve had the honor and pleasure of working with families, many of whom I’ve known for over a decade, and I’ve seen the kids grow up.
My hope is that we are a place where those families know that there’s a research group that works intensely.