Research And Development

In April, our Director of Communications Dr. Jessica Schonhut Stasik, was featured as a guest on The Anxious Achiever podcast with Morra Aarons-Mele. In the episode, Dr. Schonhut Stasik reflects on what it can take to build a meaningful, sustainable career when your brain does not align with the… Read More

The latest FCAI Salon Series recording is now available: The Educational Experience of Autistic Girls, featuring Dr. Brittney L. Goscicki (Lecturer, Department of Special Education, Vanderbilt University). You can find the recording on the FCAI YouTube, our website, or embedded below. In this session, Dr. Goscicki shares research… Read More

Every campus should aspire to be inclusive of the students it enrolls, and the College Autism Network’s new Autism-Inclusive Campus project recognizes and celebrates campuses that make neuroinclusion a campus-wide priority. Through this initiative, the College Autism Network’s consulting team helps colleges and universities identify, assess,… Read More

A new Tennessee-based partnership is launching what organizers believe is the first structured workforce pathway for neurodivergent adults to become Virtual Driving Readiness Instructors, using advanced driving simulation to help learners build confidence and skills before transitioning to on-road instruction. The initiative brings together assistive technology developers, university researchers,… Read More

On May 19, three Frist Center for Autism and Innovation (FCAI) staff members will speak at Neurotech Frontiers Summit 2026: Where Innovation Meets Neurodiversity, a one-day event bringing together innovators, researchers, founders, clinicians, and advocates working at the intersection of emerging technology and neurodiversity. This convening builds on our October… Read More

Headshots for Peabody College/Vanderbilt .UniversityPhotos by Joe Howell FCAI’s Salon Series continues this month with The Educational Experience of Autistic Girls with Dr. Brittney Goscicki. This session will explore what research and practice can teach us about supporting autistic girls in education, with attention to the ways gender and… Read More

The Frist Center for Autism and Innovation at Vanderbilt University is pleased to welcome back Nathaniel “Nate” Dowd as FCAI’s Resident Statistician. In this role, Dowd will support FCAI staff, fellows, and affiliates by providing statistical and data analysis support across a wide range of projects advancing autism and neurodiversity… Read More

The Frist Center for Autism and Innovation is thrilled to congratulate our internal partner, Neurodiverse Technologies, along with co-founders Jan Schlueter and Principal Investigator Dr. Nilanjan Sarkar, on receiving a $70,000 award through Vanderbilt’s Innovation Catalyst Fund. This significant funding will advance NAVIS (Advancement of Neurodivergent-Aware… Read More

We at FCAI are proud to announce the launch of the Neurotech Frontiers Incubation Program, a groundbreaking initiative developed in partnership with JANUS Innovation Hub. This six-month hybrid program will support early-stage startups building technology solutions that enhance the lives of autistic and neurodivergent individuals, their families, and… Read More

The Frist Center for Autism and Innovation is pleased to announce the successful inaugural Lab-Match Event, held today both in-person at Vanderbilt and virtually. This event brought together lab managers and start-up companies in a unique forum designed to connect researchers with entrepreneurial ventures seeking research support. The Lab-Match… Read More